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Los Angeles \u2014 Heavyweight Gable Steveson discovered he\u2019d been promoted to the main card of UFC 331 this week, though it hasn\u2019t changed anything with his fight against Sean Sharaf.<\/p>\n
\u201cI treat every fighter the same, I treat every opponent the same whether they\u2019re the best or they\u2019re the worst. Go out there and pick them apart and dominate them,\u201d Steveson (4-0), a Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling in 2020, told media outlets including Cageside Press on Wednesday. \u201cI\u2019m here to win, I\u2019m not here to joke around, I\u2019m not here to sh*t talk, I\u2019m not here to be a rude person to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here to win and go home, and that\u2019s my whole objective.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201csh*t talk\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like if a guy\u2019s going to bring up certain things, it\u2019s a coward coming out of him,\u201d Steveson said in response. \u201cIt\u2019s a guy that\u2019s just showing up for his own good will, to say \u2018hey I\u2019m a sacrificial lamb.\u2019 And that\u2019s what he\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Sharaf said on Wednesday that he wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 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\u2019re not excited to make it to here, we\u2019re excited to win, we\u2019re excited to win belts, we\u2019re excited to support our team and our family. And I feel like he\u2019s really excited to get this opportunity to go out there and say \u2018hey I fought Gable Steveson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steveson made the comparison to Peter McNeeley fighting Mike Tyson, in Tyson\u2019s comeback fight in 1995. Saying that Saturday would be that day for Sharaf, \u201che\u2019ll go to be a regular citizen after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steveson has been working with UFC great Jon Jones since \u201cBones\u201d was preparing to fight Stipe Miocic. Eventually, Jones flew Steveson out to Albuquerque, \u201cand that was my first time ever that far south in America, ever. And I loved it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost definitely the vibes clicked. That\u2019s my dog through and through. I support Jon, Jon supports me. We make sure everything\u2019s straight at home and make sure everything\u2019s good with each other. that\u2019s more definitely my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n