Gable Steveson Can Still Be A Player in the UFC, But He Has a Lot of Work To Do
In what was the biggest upset in UFC history, based on the betting odds, -2500 favorite Gable Steveson was knocked out cold in just 12 seconds by +1000 underdog Sean Sharaf at UFC 331.
Very few expected Steveson to lose this fight, but it only took a giant left hook by Sharaf seconds into their UFC 331 heavyweight bout to put the former Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling to sleep.
It was an unbelievable upset, any way you put it, and now a lot of people think that Steveson is a fraud in mixed martial arts and that he won’t amount to anything.
While I, too, was absolutely shocked by Sharaf’s KO, I also think one would be foolish to write off Steveson just now, given the athletic tools that he possesses.
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In my opinion, Steveson can still be a player in the UFC heavyweight division — but he has a lot of work to do.
Gable Steveson Is An Elite Athlete
The reason why Steveson was such a huge betting favorite against Sharaf, and why so many people think he can go far in MMA, is because he is an elite athlete who possesses the athletic tools that very few in this sport do.
After all, Steveson was an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, and those types of athletes don’t grow on trees.
He’s such a good athlete that he even had a cup of coffee on the Buffalo Bills‘ practice squad in the NFL, and he also competed for WWE.
Again, not many people can do all of these things.
In MMA, Steveson won his first four fights, and he also won a fight in Dirty Boxing, so we know that he has the knockout power to touch his opponent’s chin and put them out cold.
On that same train of thought, Steveson’s own chin didn’t look to be very sturdy, as he was knocked out cold by the first punch that Sharaf threw at him.
Who knows, maybe this was the biggest fluke in UFC history, and Sharaf will never live up to this hype again, while Steveson will go on to win the heavyweight title.
That’s the thing about heavyweight MMA: unlike other weight classes, one punch can end things in seconds, so we get some funny results sometimes.
That’s not to take anything away from Sharaf, because the punch that he landed may have knocked out an elephant.
But I still think we’d be unwise to write off Steveson just yet, given he has so much potential in the sport to be great at it, especially since he trains with Jon Jones, the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time.
The UFC Heavyweight Division Stinks
One of the reasons why I’m still high on Steveson is that the UFC heavyweight division stinks.
It truly is the weakest men’s weight class in the UFC right now, as there are several fighters in the top 15 who don’t even have the cardio to go a full 15 minutes without needing an oxygen tank to breathe.
That’s why Steveson can still make a run in the UFC, because the weight class that he’s in is terrible.
Obviously, Steveson has a ton of work to do. It was clear against both Sharaf and against Elisha Ellison in his promotional debut at UFC 329 in July that he has significant problems when it comes to his striking defense.
That being said, with some more time in the sport — he is still really new at MMA, remember — he can work on these issues and fix them.
If he does, then Steveson can become a real problem in the UFC heavyweight division.
But right now, he isn’t ready for the big time. He’s an incredible talent, no doubt about it, but he has a lot of work to do if he’s going to reach his potential in this sport.
Now, after suffering his first career defeat in humiliating fashion, we’ll see if he truly has what it takes to go far in this sport.
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This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Sep 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Other Sports section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.