Twelve seconds. That's how long the "sacrificial lamb" lasted.
“"I feel like if guys are going to bring up certain things, it's a coward coming up out of him... 'Hey, I'm a sacrificial lamb.' And that's what he's going to be Saturday."”
Sean Sharaf knocked Gable Steveson out cold with a left hook just 12 seconds into their heavyweight clash at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 — the third-fastest heavyweight knockout in UFC history and, by consensus, one of the biggest upsets the sport has ever seen. The former U.S. Marine entered as a colossal underdog, roughly a -2400 dog on the books, against an Olympic gold medalist who had promised to make him a lamb to the slaughter. Instead, Sharaf did the sacrificing.
The bad blood was real, and it started outside the cage. Sharaf had referenced Steveson's 2019 arrest — per MMA Junkie, the wrestler was arrested in June 2019 on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct at the University of Minnesota, though criminal charges were never filed — in a social media post during fight week, and the heavyweight favorite took it personally.
"I feel like if guys are going to bring up certain things, it's a coward coming up out of him," Steveson said at Wednesday's media day. "It's a guy that's showing up for his own will and to say, 'Hey, I'm a sacrificial lamb.' And that's what he's going to be Saturday, and we will show the world once again that Gable Steveson is going to keep upgrading himself."
He upgraded into a left hook.
Sharaf (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) picked up his first UFC victory in the most emphatic fashion possible, after suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund. The 26-year-old Steveson (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who had knocked out Elisha Ellison in his UFC debut at UFC 329 in July, was left stiffened on the canvas and later stormed out of the octagon before the official decision was read.
The fallout was immediate and merciless. Israel Adesanya told Steveson to "log off" and disappear from the spotlight for a while. Henry Cejudo said there is something "unsettled" in him since the Olympics. Chael Sonnen stood by him — "A week ago, I believed Gable will be UFC champion. Today, I believe Gable will be the UFC champion" — while Daniel Cormier urged patience: "Right now is the time for Gable to try to have that reset. He's got to reset. He's got to reset his mind."
Cormier's comparison stung: Josh Hokit, the wrestler Steveson's generation gets measured against, is fighting Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 334 in November. Steveson is 4-1 and rebuilding from the most humbling night of his career.
He called Sharaf a sacrificial lamb. Twelve seconds later, the lamb was standing over him. In the UFC, words are free — but they cost.
