Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight newcomer Gable Steveson officially has his Octagon debut booked.
After months of anticipation, the Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA Division I Heavyweight champion is set to face Elisha Ellison at UFC 329 this summer (Sat., July 11, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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And yes — oddsmakers already expect complete destruction.
Steveson opened as a massive -2000 betting favorite.
Steveson (3-0) enters the UFC carrying enormous hype after steamrolling through his first three professional MMA appearances. He knocked out Braden Peterson in less than two minutes (watch highlights) in his MMA debut before scoring a 24-second knockout over Kevin Hein later in 2025 (watch highlights). Earlier this year, the 25-year-old scored another stoppage win over Hugo Lezama in Mexico (watch highlights).
Before stepping into the Octagon, Steveson will be competing at RAF 09 this month.
As for Ellison (5-2), the matchup feels very much like a sacrificial offering.
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“The Snack Panther” made his UFC debut last year at UFC Perth and got completely demolished by surging Heavyweight prospect Brando Pericic, suffering a knockout loss in less than two minutes (watch highlights).
Still, Ellison is an aggressive finisher in his own right, holding a 100 percent finish rate with four knockouts while never seeing the judges’ scorecards in victory or defeat.
That said, the optics of this booking are hard to ignore.
Ellison currently sits No. 38 out of 40 fighters in Tapology’s UFC Heavyweight rankings, while Steveson is arguably the biggest prospect the UFC has signed in years.
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Translation: the UFC clearly wants a highlight-reel debut.
Here is what UFC 329 looks like so far:
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2
Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett
Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval
Elisha Ellison vs. Gable Steveson
Nikita Krylov vs. Robert Whittaker
Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez
Cesar Almeida vs. Damian Pinas
Kai Kamaka vs. Luke Riley
Ryan Gandra vs. Zach Reese
Cody Durden vs. Ode Osbourne
Tracy Cortez vs. Cong Wang
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
