Sean Sharaf Pulls Off Stunning 12-Second Upset Against Gable Steveson

Sean Sharaf spent fight week telling anyone who would listen that Gable Steveson did not scare him. The oddsmakers had a very different opinion. Then UFC 331 reached Los Angeles, and the betting lines did not survive the opening seconds.

Steveson arrived unbeaten in MMA, an Olympic gold medalist with Jon Jones in his corner and the betting market firmly behind him. Sharaf came in 0-2 in the UFC, with his career there possibly on the line. What happened inside Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night took less than a quarter of a minute.

How Sean Sharaf Pulled Off a 12-second Upset Over Gable Steveson

Sean Sharaf, a 33-year-old Anaheim native, knocked out Gable Steveson on Saturday, Sept. 19, on the UFC 331 main card at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Steveson led with a left in the opening seconds. Sharaf met it with a left hook to the jaw, and Steveson's head snapped back before he tumbled to the mat. Two more punches followed, and referee Frank Trigg called it off.

The whole thing took 12 seconds, the third-fastest finish in UFC heavyweight history. It gave Sharaf his first UFC win in three tries. It also handed Steveson the first loss of a five-fight MMA career that began only last year.

The betting lines make the result look even stranger. Steveson was close to a -2500 favorite, while Sharaf sat near +1000. Broadcaster Jon Anik summed up the mood with "One of the biggest upsets of all time!" Joe Rogan was struck by how quickly Steveson went out cold.

The hype around Steveson had reasons behind it. The Tokyo Games gold medalist in freestyle wrestling was also a five-time All-American at Minnesota. He had won his first four MMA fights by TKO, including a first-round knockout of Elisha Ellison in his UFC debut.

Sean Sharaf's Fight Week Talk and What He Said After the Knockout

The buildup turned personal well before the first punch. Sharaf brought up 2019 se*ual assault allegations against Steveson during fight week. No criminal charges were filed against Steveson or another Minnesota wrestler at the time, due to insufficient evidence. Steveson leaned into the villain role at the pre-fight press conference and the ceremonial weigh-ins, where the Los Angeles crowd booed him. The jeers continued when he walked out with Jones on Saturday, and again when he left the arena before Bruce Buffer announced the result.

Sharaf saw the fight differently. The former Marine, who served six years, described it as a chance to take all the hype around Steveson and make it his own. Days earlier he had put it this way: "Most of my life, I've been the underdog." He came in 4-2 overall, with four first-round wins before he signed with the UFC in 2024 and two knockout losses in his first two UFC fights.

Now he is 5-2 in MMA and 1-2 in the UFC. After the fight, he told Rogan "I'm not surprised," then added a profanity aimed at the doubters. He credited long hours of work and prayer, said his belief never wavered when others had none, and thanked fans for their support.

Steveson stands at 4-1 in MMA and 1-1 in the UFC, with Jones as his mentor and head coach.