Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: “Chuck and Tito,” which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
Gable Steveson, one of the most dominant heavyweight wrestlers of his generation, has officially booked his first professional fight.
Steveson, 25, will face Braden Peterson at LFA 217 on Sept. 12 in his home state of Minnesota. The event will take place inside Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and stream on UFC Fight Pass. The LFA is one of the top regional promotions in the U.S., and is a consistent pipeline of MMA talent, primarily to the UFC.
In 2020, Steveson became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in the history of the freestyle heavyweight division at age 21. At the University of Minnesota, Steveson was a two-time NCAA Division-I champion, two-time Dan Hodge trophy winner and five-time All American.
He advanced to the 2025 NCAA Championship finals in March, where he suffered an infamous upset loss to Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State University. Steveson led late in the match, when Hedrickson landed the first takedown of any Steveson opponent the entire season.
Steveson has been spotted amongst MMA circles in recent years, including time spent on the mats with former UFC heavyweight champion and all-time great Jon Jones ahead of Jones’s last fight in 2024. He has also trained at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. His opponent, Peterson (1-0), is a 37-year-old out of Montana with a 14-second knockout victory in July.
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