Sean Sharaf knocked out Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in just 12 seconds at UFC 331 on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, delivering one of the biggest betting upsets in UFC history.
Stunning Upset in Los Angeles
Referee Frank Trigg immediately waved off the fight. It was described as the third-fastest knockout in heavyweight history, according to freep.com.
First Loss of Steveson’s Career
The defeat was the first of Steveson’s MMA career, dropping his record to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the UFC. It marked just the second appearance for Steveson inside the Octagon. Sharaf, meanwhile, improved to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the UFC, picking up his first Octagon win after suffering back-to-back knockout losses.
Jon Jones’ Reaction Goes Viral
Jon Jones, the former two-division UFC champion who has served as Steveson’s primary coach and mentor since Steveson joined his New Mexico camp, sat cageside in Steveson’s corner alongside Brandon Gibson and Greg Jackson. Jones exchanged a stunned look with Jackson, who then spoke to him as he remained visibly shaken by the result, per Mmafighting.
Steveson’s Early Exit Draws Criticism
As soon as he regained consciousness, Steveson left the Octagon before Bruce Buffer could officially announce Sharaf as the winner, drawing boos from the Los Angeles crowd and criticism from fellow fighters on social media, with one writing that he had “lost all respect for that dude.” UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier called Steveson an “ungrateful loser” during the event’s post-fight broadcast, saying: You stand there and you take your lick whenever you lose. You let that man get his hand raised and you stand there no matter how you’re feeling. If you’re concussed, cry. I did it. I mean, s***, there’s the truth. You take your lick whenever stuff doesn’t go your way. You cannot be a great winner but then an ungrateful loser, and I think that was bad by Steveson.
UFC CEO Dana White downplayed the outcome when asked about it in the post-fight press conference, saying, Anything is possible when two guys get in there and start fighting. You never know how a fight’s going to go.
White also referenced Forrest Griffin’s decision to run out of the Octagon after his trilogy fight with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148 in 2012 as a comparable moment of raw emotion.
What Sharaf Had to Say
Sharaf remained respectful in his own post-fight press conference despite considerable pre-fight trash talk between the two. I saw him leaving, but I was thinking about this before the fight. I was 4-0 undefeated when I had my first loss in the UFC. He just had his first loss. It makes you better. You’re going to take a look back, and you can’t underestimate people. You can’t think you’re untouchable and you’re just going to run through people. So, I think he’s going to go back and get better. He’s got a hell of a lot of talent. I’m sure you guys will see him again.
Both Steveson and Jones had previously predicted the Olympic gold medalist would soon be fighting for the heavyweight championship. The loss to Sharaf may delay that timeline as Jones now helps the 26-year-old rebuild after the first real setback of his young combat sports career.