Minnesota Gophers Wrestling - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/category/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/ Minnesota sports, but different Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:53:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Minnesota Gophers Wrestling - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/category/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/ 32 32 Gopher GOAT Knocks Out Latest MMA Opponent Immediately https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/gable-steveson-knockout-mma-record-2-0/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:53:22 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=72969 Former Minnesota Gophers wrestler Gable Steveson - MMA
Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team and 5x All-American Gable Steveson milked every ounce of his college eligibility from 2018-2024, where he won 70-straight matches, 4 Big Ten Championships and 2 National Championships over SIX total seasons.

During a break in his collegiate wrestling career, Steveson tried and failed to catch on as a rising WWE star. Then, he showed his insane athleticism by jumping to football, a sport he didn’t even play in high school, let alone any level after that. Unfortunately, that career change ultimately failed, as well.

Gable Steveson starts MMA career off HOT

Out of college eligibility and alternative pro athlete options, Gable turned (almost begrudgingly) back to his roots, following his final college wrestling season.

Former Minnesota Gophers wrestler Gable Steveson - MMA
Credit: Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Instead of performance acting, however, Steveson followed in the other footsteps of fellow Gopher wrestling GOAT, Brock Lesner, announcing the official start to his Mixed Martial Arts career.

And so far… Gable’s MMA prospects are looking far better than his WWE and NFL chances ever did. The come-up started back in September, when Steveson absolutely dominated his “LFA” debut with a first round TKO (1:38) of his debut opponent Braden Peterson, who was also making his official MMA debut.

Then on Sunday evening, the Minnesota Gophers GOAT put the Mixed Martial Arts world was really put on notice in Milwaukee, WI, when Gable Steveson knocked the lights out of his second-ever MMA opponent, Kevin Hein, just 24-seconds into the first round.

The most notable takeaway from Sunday’s knockout is that it happened on a stand-up left-hook that Hein never saw coming, resulting in the 32-year-old toppling like a poorly constructed Leaning Tower of Pizza. The hasty victory made Gable Steveson 2-0 in his MMA career, officially.

Steveson could climb MMA (and UFC) ranks quickly

But the 25-year-old former Gopher also won a non-official fight three weeks ago, in Nashville, against “Big Sexy” Billy Swanson, who he TKO’d in 15 seconds. That makes three fights (and three victories) in just three months.

Look, Gable Steveson is one of the greatest Greek-Roman wrestlers of all time. Nobody is doubting whether or not he will be able to handle his business on the mat. That’s probably what his opponent was looking for Sunday night, when suddenly, a lightning-fast left fist knocked his lights out unexpectedly.

If the former Minnesota Golden Gopher can fight standing up too, he could rise up the MMA and UFC ranks faster than anyone since… you guessed it, Brock Lesner.

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]]> Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:53:25 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Wrestling Gable Steveson Loses in Massive National Championship Upset https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/gable-steveson-upset-national-championship-loss/ Sun, 23 Mar 2025 02:36:29 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=61703 Gable Steveson, Minnesota Gophers
Bill Streicher-Imagn ImagesBill Streicher-Imagn Images

There are few Minnesota Gophers legends that rival the level of buzz that Gable Steveson has generated. He returned to The U this season with an eye on extending his otherwise prolific wrestling career.

The Minnesota Gophers have had plenty of talented wrestlers come through the storied program. Few have won an Olympic gold medal, been involved with the NFL, and taken the ring for WWE fans like Steveson.

Gable Steveson did not need to return for the Minnesota Gophers, but he did looking to advance his legacy. On Saturday night the unexplainable happened.

Shocking upset dethrones Minnesota Gophers Gable Steveson

Gable Steveson wrestled as a senior during the 2021-22 season. He then took time off to pursue an insane amount of different avenues. Steveson surfaced with the Miami Dolphins, and signed with the Buffalo Bills. He worked for Triple-H. He then came back to where it all started.

This season Steveson went 18-0 for Minnesota, but it all fell apart at the most crucial moment. With a national championship title on the line, Steveson went down.

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson took Gable Steveson down in the third to pull off an insane upset. The Gophers superstar was -1300 to win the match (Hendrickson +900), and even current US president Donald Trump was front row to see it happen.

Related: Supposed Gophers MBB Coach Seeded for NCAA Tournament

This is the sort of upset that movies get written about. Think Miracle, Cool Runnings, even Rocky. Steveson is not only a Gophers legend, but he has compiled a career of accolades we are unlikely to ever see repeated again in collegiate sports.

It’s an unfortunate way for Steveson to leave the collegiate ranks. Still, he has a pair of national championships to his credit, and it’s likely he’ll add another Olympic medal to his resume at some point as well. March Madness upsets were supposed to dominate the weekend, but this was the one every Gophers fan is talking about.

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]]> Sat, 22 Mar 2025 21:55:28 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Wrestling Gophers Wrestling Gets No Love from Officials or Iowa https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/gophers-wrestling-gets-no-love-from-officials-or-iowa/ Sat, 15 Feb 2025 07:49:44 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=60332 Minnesota Gophers Max McEnelly Victory

The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team was pushed for the first time in a long time by the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, Friday night. In fact, it was a clinic from start to damn-near finish for the 5,307 in attendance. But the way the duel was officiated might have impacted the results of multiple matches.

From the very first match it was evident the officiating crew was going to be conservative in awarding points to either wrestler. Eighth-ranked, 141-pound Vance VomBaur might have earned a technical fall if not for the officiating. Instead he earned just three team points on a 14-10 victory.

The officials were consistent from start to finish, which kept the matches close. But the officiating definitely changed the way some of the wrestlers wrestled. Gophers wrestling head coach Brandon Eggum even thought stalling should have been called on his own wrestlers.

Related: Gophers Wrestling Dominates Rutgers; Gable Steveson: β€˜Sadly’ Match Cut Short

Gophers wrestling coach addresses impact of officiating

A pair of third-ranked wrestlers earned huge points to make the Gophers dig out of a deep hole. Kyle Parco (149 pounds) and Jacori Teemer (157 pounds) beat No. 29 Drew Roberts and No. 8 Tommy Askey, respectively. Iowa wrestled smart given the officiating, waiting for an A+ opportunity and scoring when it presented itself. Eggum was particularly critical of the way Tommy Askey’s match was called.

I never want to win a match based on a call, but at 157 [pounds], the kid was retreating a lot. And that, you know, makes it difficult. You lose your composure. You keep walking, and that’s what happened. We walked right into a shot, but you keep doing that for seven minutes…you know, we kept reminding him, but that’s good for Askey to kind of remember that.

Brandon Eggum, Gophers wrestling head coach

Askey lost the match 4-1 after leading 1-0 going into the third period. He scored the first points of the match with an escape to start the second period. Awarding a point to Askey for Teemer’s stalling would have given Askey a better shot at winning the match and more opportunities to earn a pin fall.

Top three teams in Big Ten wrestling might be top-3 in the country

Cooper Flynn (No. 13 125-pounder) nearly got the Gophers off to the start they needed. Down 3-0 after two, Flynn made a spirited comeback in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime against No. 26 Joey Cruz. But Cruz scored the first takedown of sudden death, and Iowa started with a 3-0 duel lead, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Minnesotan Patrick Kennedy of Kasson-Mantorville was dominant against No. 22 Clayton Whiting of the Gophers. The 11th-ranked 174-pounder never trailed, pulling ahead 4-0, then 7-0. Whiting scored an escape and takedown to make it close in the third, but got caught attempting the takedown to tie it and got called for riding time.

Eighth-ranked Isaiah Salazar gave a really good effort against the top-ranked 197-pounder, Stephen Buchanan. He just couldn’t escape quickly enough in the third to leave himself time to overcome the sole takedown scored in the final seconds of regulation.

Gophers wrestling future star finishes first official season undefeated

Waconia’s Max McEnelly finished his first official Gophers wrestling season undefeated with an overtime win over eighth-ranked, 184-pounder Gabe Arnold. The wrestlers exchanged escapes in the second and third periods before McEnelly scored the match-winning takedown early in overtime. It gave Minnesota just its second match win of the night to pull within 14 points with two matches left on the card.

Max McEnelly is expecting some Waconians to the attend the Big Ten Championships. He added that the wrestling community there is strong and supportive despite its small size. McEnelly certainly felt the love from the sellout crowd at University of Minnesota’s Maturi Pavilion on Valentine’s Day. He received the biggest ovation of the night, even exceeding his Olympic Gold medalist teammate, Gable Steveson.

It’s awesome to come out here in front of the home crowd every single time…I don’t really think about going undefeated or whatever. I just think about going out there and, you know, wrestling every single match to the best of my abilities. Winning’s cool, but at the end of the day, it’s about how you compete. The Minnesota crowd brought it today, so it was awesome to get a big win in front of them.

Max McEnelly, the future of Gophers wrestling

Thing is, Gophers wrestling head coach Brandon Eggum thought McEnelly’s match could have been his first pin fall of the season, saying “the guy was on his back for a LONG time, and if anything else he could’ve called danger or something.”

Gable Steveson sends ’em home happy

Gable Steveson sent the crowd home happy with a first-period technical fall over redshirt freshman and 11th-ranked heavyweight Ben Kueter. Steveson finished yet another Gophers wrestling regular season undefeated and remains the top heavyweight in the country and probably the world. He spoke some words of wisdom in the ear of Kueter after the match.

The Gophers wrestling team has some time off to get healthy before the Big Ten Championships start on March 8 in Evanston, Illinois. They’ll enter as the third-best team in the conference and, perhaps, the third-best team in the nation.

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]]> Sat, 15 Feb 2025 01:57:28 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Wrestling UFC Champ Watches Gophers Wrestling Pummel Purdue; Steveson: MMA ‘Definitely’ in Future; NFL Hopes, Too https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/ufc-champ-watches-gophers-wrestling-pummel-purdue-steveson-mma-definitely-in-future-nfl-hopes-too/ Sun, 09 Feb 2025 22:31:02 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=60173 UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones and UM Heavyweight Wrestler Gable Steveson Enjoy Gophers Wrestling

The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team nearly blanked the No. 28 Boilermakers at Maturi Pavilion, Sunday. Gophers wrestlers won eight of 10 matches to run away from Purdue, 35-6, with five of those eight wins coming by technical fall.

Gophers wrestling nearly blanks Boilermakers

Andrew Sparks (#11 at 165 pounds) took down Stoney Buell and scored four nearfall points in the first period and steamrolled Stoney 20-4, scoring three more takedowns in the third period. He’s won five straight matches.

The most competitive match of the day was between 174-pounders Clayton Whiting (#22) and Purdue’s Brody Baumann (#27). The match went into sudden death overtime. Whiting defended an attack by Baumann and then drove down his opponent to earn the victory.

Waconia’s Max McEnelly remained undefeated on the season, starting fast against Orando Cruz with three takedowns in the first period. It was 16-3 after two when McEnelly allowed an escape to score another takedown and the technical fall victory, 20-4 with 1:11 left in regulation.

UFC Heavyweight Champ Jon “Bones” Jones gets quite a show

The Gophers wrestling team put on quite the show for the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, Jon “Bones” Jones, who was in attendance to watch Gable Steveson, an attendee of Jones’ recent fight camp. Steveson finished Hayden Filipovich in the first period, scoring four takedowns and two nearfalls.

When asked if MMA was in his future, Gable Steveson said “definitely,” but what might be more surprising is Steveson’s interest in playing in the NFL’s biggest game.

“Super Bowl’s a big game. I wish one day I could be in it. That would be really nice, and if I’m not, then I live to dream of being an NFL player,” Steveson said. “But I think there’s more for me.”

The “more” to which he’s referring is his tryout with the Buffalo Bills that earned him a three-year, rookie contract to play defensive line. Steveson said he’s grateful for the Bills giving him that opportunity despite the fact he’d never played football in his life.

Steveson was also grateful for Jones’ presence at the Purdue duel. “With Jon in attendance, just the magnitude that he brings to the MMA game and the wrestling world and to this program, too, just to have him show up…he showed up and showed out for the team, and we’re grateful for that.”

Tommy Askey finishes strong for Gophers wrestling team

The final match of the duel might have gotten the biggest reaction out of Jones. Eighth-ranked 157-pounder Tommy Askey scored a violent takedown and four-point nearfall to earn his first technical fall of the season over Wyatt Krejsa.

“Everybody looks over after they win to see if Jon notices them, so it’s really nice,” Steveson said. Jones certainly noticed Askey and appeared to enjoy himself throughout. He hung out with the team in their weight/recovery room afterward, talking wrestling and taking photos with Gophers wrestlers.

The Gophers wrestling team has its biggest duel of the season on Valentine’s Day, as third-ranked Iowa visits the Maturi Pavilion, Friday at 8 p.m.

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]]> Sun, 09 Feb 2025 16:31:04 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Wrestling Gophers Wrestling Dominates Rutgers; Gable Steveson: ‘Sadly’ Match Cut Short https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-gophers-wrestling/gophers-wrestling-dominates-rutgers-gable-steveson-sadly-match-cut-short/ Mon, 03 Feb 2025 03:58:44 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=59938 Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling Gable Steveson wins NCAA Championship
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team showed why it’s ranked eighth in the country, dominating No. 12 Rutgers 28-9 on Sunday. Gable Steveson stole the show, but four other Gophers also delivered dominant performances.

“I’m proud of the guys, and how they showed up and took care of business,” Steveson said.

Gable Steveson ‘sad’ after another win by fall?

Steveson did something Sunday that lifted me out of my seat. Not out of fandom, but out of pure appreciation of athletic excellence. He moved tenth-ranked heavyweight Yaraslau Slavikouski like Ikea furniture damn near off the mat on a double leg takedown early in the third period.

It was a ferocious fall that rightfully received a standing ovation. But Steveson wished the match — which you can watch more of below — had gone the distance.

“I wanted to go the three periods today. Sadly it got cut short, but we’ve been prepared to go three periods and nothing less. And I want to be out there for seven minutes and let the other people see me for seven minutes.”

Gable Steveson after his 60th straight collegiate wrestling victory

This is why I love wrestling. You, me, and everyone else see the W as the finish line. But wrestlers see the value in wrestling every available minute in preparation for future minutes. They value practice. Speaking of practice…

Gopher wrestling recruits have been solid

A lot of credit should also go to Gophers head coach Brandon Eggum and his staff for putting this loaded roster together, developing the undergraduates, and preparing the team for competition. Undefeated redshirt freshman from Waconia, Max McEnelly, said as much after the rout of Rutgers.

“Our coaches preached to us going out there and just scoring points – not worrying about the wins and losses – but to focus on the way you want to wrestle. And the way we want to wrestle is going out there and scoring points every single time and just lighting up that scoreboard.”

-Max McEnelly, four-time Minnesota state high school wrestling champion

The Gophers did just that, getting on the scoreboard early and often. All four Minnesota Gophers who scored first won their matches in routs.

Future of Minnesota Gophers wrestling looks bright

The University of Minnesota has nine wrestlers ranked in the top-25, and that excludes Steveson because he hadn’t wrestled enough matches to qualify at the time.

Redshirt sophomore Clayton Whiting (No. 24 at 174 pounds) had a comeback victory over No. 28 Jackson Turley in a match that was as close as you’d expect given their national rankings. Whiting claimed a 4-2 victory on a violent takedown with 40 seconds remaining and managed to keep his feet despite losing leverage in the closing seconds.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Basketball NIL Budget Revealed

The fourth-ranked McEnelly was clinical in his 18-4 major decision over No. 18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh. Only an educated act of desperation saved Cartagena-Walsh from a first-period fall. But the match was never close, and it set the tone for the rest of the team.

McEnelly has won twice as many matches as Steveson without taking a loss (14-0). He’s won matches every which way but pin fall, and he was so close to scoring his first on Sunday. McEnelly said Steveson has been a huge help on and off the mat, and Steveson credits McEnelly for staying in-state.

“I think he made the best decision coming here. And for all the young kids thinking they want to go out-of-state or thinking that the out-of-state program is going to do them better, think about staying in-state and maybe you can flourish like he has and how I have.”

-Gable Steveson, Olympic Gold medalist seeking third NCAA Championship

Will Gable Steveson run into someone who can “see” him for seven minutes? I wouldn’t bet on it happening before the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 8-9. The Minnesota Gophers wrestling team hosts Iowa on Feb. 14. Here is Gable’s entire condensed match from Sunday.

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]]> Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:35:43 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Wrestling