Gable Steveson’s rough night at UFC 331 will merely be a bump in the road, according to his manager.
Steveson was on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, getting brutally knocked out in just 12 seconds by Sean Sharaf on the main card of Saturday’s numbered event in Los Angeles. Steveson closed as a -2400 favorite, and after an early exchange, Sharaf uncorked a beautiful counter left hand and put Steveson to sleep.
On Sunday, Steveson’s manager Abe Kawa released a statement, comparing the Olympic gold medalist to the likes of Arman Tsarukyan, Islam Makhachev, Georges St-Pierre, and more.
“It’s OK that Gable got caught,” Kawa wrote on Instagram. “It’s OK that he was booed. It’s OK his opponent talked shit. It’s OK that the world is kicking him when down. It’s the life he chose. Islam got clipped. Arman has lost. DJ has lost. GSP lost. DC lost. Jose Aldo lost. All went on to have absolutely legendary careers. We stand by our guy. He will be back real soon, and he will be great!”
While the loss seemed tough enough, Steveson is getting a lot of backlash for the way he handled his first MMA defeat — walking out of the octagon before the official decision was even read to head to the back. Daniel Cormier blasted Steveson for the decision, along with a host of other past and present fighters.
Sharaf earned a total of $100,000 in bonuses for the performance.
