Steveson banks on Jon Jones' aura to unsettle opponents at UFC 329 debut

Gable Steveson steps into the UFC octagon for the first time at UFC 329, facing Elisha Ellison with a familiar and formidable figure at ringside — Jon Jones, the retired two-division champion widely regarded as the greatest of all time.

Steveson, 26, arrives in the UFC unbeaten at 3-0 with three first-round finishes, including a 15-second knockout in his sole Dirty Boxing appearance. Most recently, he returned to competitive wrestling in May, recording a technical fall win over former UFC fighter Alexandr Romanov at RAF 9. Now, with the transition to MMA’s biggest stage complete, Steveson is leaning on Jones not just as a coach, but as a psychological weapon.

“I think it’s a big thing to have Jon Jones in my corner,” Steveson told MMA Fighting. “It’s a big confidence booster. And if you look when we walk out and Jon walks out, the opponents are going to look at Jon and be like, ‘Wow, that’s the greatest of all time in the corner of Gable Steveson showing him what to do. What is Gable Steveson possibly going to do to me that Jon has taught him.’”

Steveson described Jones as unusually invested in his development — perhaps more so than Jones ever appeared in his own career. “He’s got high hopes for me,” Steveson said. “I think he kind of sees his skill set, and kind of sees what I can do with his skill set and how I can kind of manage who Jon Jones was, and be the athlete that he was also. So I think that’s why he’s so giddy.”

Jones vacated the UFC heavyweight title following his retirement, with Tom Aspinall now holding the belt. Jones had been linked to a potential appearance at the UFC White House event but was not placed on the card. Whether the 37-year-old ever competes again remains an open question — one Steveson declined to answer for him.

“Yeah, it would be really cool if he fought again, but Jon’s going to do whatever Jon wants to do, and if he wants to fight again, he’ll fight again, but we’ll see,” Steveson said.

For now, the focus is on Steveson’s own introduction to the octagon — and whether the wrestling pedigree and Jones-endorsed toolkit can translate into a fourth consecutive finish at the highest level of the sport.