Sean Sharaf knew Gable Steveson was looking past him before UFC 331
· Yahoo Sports
Sean
Sharaf knew Gable
Steveson was looking past him before their clash.
Sharaf was a massive underdog going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight bout against Steveson at UFC 331. He knocked Steveson out cold in 12 seconds in a monumental upset and has since revealed that he knew the Olympian was underestimating him, which only motivated him further.
Sharaf recently revealed that a specific moment made it certain that Steveson was looking past him. Steveson (4-1) defeated Anthony Cassioppi in a wrestling match at RAF 12, less than a month before his fight against Sharaf. When Sharaf saw Steveson doing side quests during fight camp, he knew that the Olympic gold medalist was overconfident.
“He did a [Real American Freestyle] match,” Sharaf told TMZ Sports. “He did a wrestling match like the month prior, and that’s when I knew. He’s in fight camp and he’s going to do another event.”
Meanwhile, it was a do-or-die matchup for Sharaf (5-2), having been knocked out in both of his previous UFC bouts. While he knew that he was being considered a stepping stone for Steveson, the former U.S. Marine was determined to win.
“I was on the chopping block,” Sharaf added. “Literally, everyone was just like, he even said in his interview, ‘He's a sacrificial lamb, he's a coward, he's looking for a way out,’ and I'm like, ‘Bro, I signed up for this, brother. I signed the contract.’ I am definitely going to show up on fight night and I'm definitely here to f*cking win.”
Sharaf then doubled down on his advice to never underestimate an opponent, especially at the highest level.
"That's another lesson, like, bro, you can't underestimate anyone. Like I said, he has two hands, he has two legs, he bleeds red and you can get touched, especially in the UFC."
Sharaf was a massive underdog going into his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight bout against Steveson at UFC 331. He knocked Steveson out cold in 12 seconds in a monumental upset and has since revealed that he knew the Olympian was underestimating him, which only motivated him further.
Sharaf says Steveson's RAF 12 wrestling match during UFC camp lit a fire under him
Sharaf recently revealed that a specific moment made it certain that Steveson was looking past him. Steveson (4-1) defeated Anthony Cassioppi in a wrestling match at RAF 12, less than a month before his fight against Sharaf. When Sharaf saw Steveson doing side quests during fight camp, he knew that the Olympic gold medalist was overconfident.
“He did a [Real American Freestyle] match,” Sharaf told TMZ Sports. “He did a wrestling match like the month prior, and that’s when I knew. He’s in fight camp and he’s going to do another event.”
Meanwhile, it was a do-or-die matchup for Sharaf (5-2), having been knocked out in both of his previous UFC bouts. While he knew that he was being considered a stepping stone for Steveson, the former U.S. Marine was determined to win.
“I was on the chopping block,” Sharaf added. “Literally, everyone was just like, he even said in his interview, ‘He's a sacrificial lamb, he's a coward, he's looking for a way out,’ and I'm like, ‘Bro, I signed up for this, brother. I signed the contract.’ I am definitely going to show up on fight night and I'm definitely here to f*cking win.”
Sharaf then doubled down on his advice to never underestimate an opponent, especially at the highest level.
"That's another lesson, like, bro, you can't underestimate anyone. Like I said, he has two hands, he has two legs, he bleeds red and you can get touched, especially in the UFC."
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