Los Angeles — Heavyweight Gable Steveson discovered he’d been promoted to the main card of UFC 331 this week, though it hasn’t changed anything with his fight against Sean Sharaf.
“I treat every fighter the same, I treat every opponent the same whether they’re the best or they’re the worst. Go out there and pick them apart and dominate them,” Steveson (4-0), a Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling in 2020, told media outlets including Cageside Press on Wednesday. “I’m here to win, I’m not here to joke around, I’m not here to sh*t talk, I’m not here to be a rude person to anybody.”
“I’m here to win and go home, and that’s my whole objective.”
The “sh*t talk” comment was directed at opponent Sharaf, Steveson confirmed. Sharaf had previously called Steveson a rapist, and accused the UFC of favoring him in their promotion of the fight. Steveson was charged with taking part in a group sexual assault in Minnesota in 2019, but charges were dropped due to the complainant in the case having voluntarily consumed alcohol prior to the incident, making her statement inadmissible. The law barring her statement has since been changed.
“I feel like if a guy’s going to bring up certain things, it’s a coward coming out of him,” Steveson said in response. “It’s a guy that’s just showing up for his own good will, 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 the Gable Steveson is going to keep upgrading himself and keep being the best he possible can be.”
While Sharaf said on Wednesday that he wasn’t impressed at all by Gable Steveson, Gable himself found some reason to be impressed with Sharaf. Though in the end, it was something of an backhanded compliment.
“He’s a big heavy hitter, he tries to throw both hands at you and tries to get big shots to land on you. I think Sean was a great regional fighter, I feel like he was excited to make it to the UFC. But guys like me, we’re not excited to make it to here, we’re excited to win, we’re excited to win belts, we’re excited to support our team and our family. And I feel like he’s really excited to get this opportunity to go out there and say ‘hey I fought Gable Steveson.”
Steveson made the comparison to Peter McNeeley fighting Mike Tyson, in Tyson’s comeback fight in 1995. Saying that Saturday would be that day for Sharaf, “he’ll go to be a regular citizen after that.”
Steveson has been working with UFC great Jon Jones since “Bones” was preparing to fight Stipe Miocic. Eventually, Jones flew Steveson out to Albuquerque, “and that was my first time ever that far south in America, ever. And I loved it ever since.”
“Most definitely the vibes clicked. That’s my dog through and through. I support Jon, Jon supports me. We make sure everything’s straight at home and make sure everything’s good with each other. that’s more definitely my brother.”
Watch the full UFC 331 media day appearance by Gable Steveson above.