Gable Steveson responded to comments made by Bo Nickal following his victory at UFC 329, pushing back on Nickal's suggestion that he could gas him out. Steveson noted the irony of the remark given that Nickal himself has been gassed out in recent fights, adding that he was simply returning fire after Nickal took a shot first.
Gable Steveson fired back at Bo Nickal on July 12, one day after competing at UFC 329, pushing back on remarks Nickal had directed his way about stamina and conditioning.
Steveson, 26, is an American wrestler making his way into professional mixed martial arts. His transition to the UFC has drawn significant attention given his decorated amateur background, though his professional record is still in its early stages. The comments from Nickal appeared to land personally enough that Steveson felt compelled to respond publicly.
Nickal, 30, carries a 9-1 professional record and has established himself as one of the more dynamic prospects in the middleweight division. Fighting out of American Top Team Happy Valley, the southpaw stands six-foot-one with a 76-inch reach and has shown an aggressive, well-rounded game. He averages 3.35 significant strikes landed per minute at 61 percent accuracy, while also generating 3.1 takedowns and 2.5 submission attempts per 15 minutes — numbers that reflect a wrestler comfortable finishing fights in multiple ways. His one professional loss, however, is a notable data point in this exchange.
Steveson's response centered on what he described as irony in Nickal's gas-out comment. He pointed out that Nickal himself has been visibly fatigued in recent outings, framing his own remarks as a direct response rather than an unprompted attack. In his telling, Nickal threw the first shot and Steveson simply returned it.
Why it matters
- Steveson is one of the most high-profile wrestling recruits the UFC has signed in recent memory, making any rivalry with Nickal — himself a former elite wrestler — carry real divisional weight.
- Nickal's 9-1 record and middleweight ranking mean a feud with an incoming prospect raises his visibility while potentially shaping how Steveson's early UFC narrative is framed.
- Both fighters share near-identical physical dimensions, setting up a style matchup that would pit elite wrestling pedigrees directly against each other.
Saturday, July 11, 2026
