Gable Steveson is one of the greatest American wrestlers of his generation but he’s had to change up his plan of attack significantly as he prepares for his submission grappling debut against Craig Jones at CJI 2. It’s always a challenge when any grappler transitions to another ruleset and although wrestlers do historically do pretty well in submission grappling, Craig Jones is one of the top Jiu-Jitsu competitors in the world. Steveson does have a significant size advantage at least, and the ruleset used at the Craig Jones Invitational prioritises initiation for judge’s decisions so that should play into a wrestler’s game more.
Steveson recently appeared on an episode of the Overdogs podcast with MMA veteran Mike Perry and at one point the conversation turned to Jones, so Steveson shared his thoughts about how to grapple with a Jiu-Jitsu expert:
“You keep the pressure on but you keep it on to a certain extent, you know? Craig (Jones) is seasoned in sitting on his back and being reliable in that position. And so we’re used to, as wrestlers, especially me, it’s just pressure, pressure, pressure. But I know that’s what he’s going to be looking for so just avoiding that. Hitting the right turns, hitting the right angles, and letting that body weight really get on him, and have the repeated success that I can do to him.”
Perry also asked Gable Steveson about his experience in preparing for MMA too and although the CJI 2 superfight with Craig Jones is a submission grappling match, his approach is one that will no doubt benefit him there too:
“Everything from top to bottom, you know? I’m taking it one step at a time and I’m taking it really slow, and really putting myself in the shoes of every single category I can. Just being polished and being really sound, and technically sound, in every spot too.”
The full interview with Gable Steveson where he talks about his upcoming superfight with Craig Jones at CJI 2 was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Overdogs podcast:
