Sean Sharaf needed just 12 seconds at UFC 331 to change his destiny. Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist who entered the cage at 4-0 with all four wins finished inside a minute, met a left hook that knocked him out cold before he could ever wrestle Sharaf.
The heavyweight underdog entered the fight with a 0-2 UFC record, but after delivering one of the most shocking upsets in MMA history, he walked out with a $100,000 bonus. Now, Sharaf says the finish did not start with his fists. It started with his mouth.
Sean Sharaf Credits Conor McGregor’s Mind Games for the Steveson Upset
Sharaf explained his strategy during an appearance on the Weighing In podcast. He admitted he copied his pre-fight mind games directly from Conor McGregor and Jon Jones.
“I’ve studied Jon Jones since…, and you saw Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor,” Sharaf said. “That is a real thing. You say something before the fight, and if it irks somebody the wrong way, they’re not gonna be thinking as level-headed as they would. That’s why that happened.”
Sharaf specifically studied how McGregor rattled featherweight champion Jose Aldo ahead of their historic title fight at UFC 194 in Dec. 2015. After months of intense mental warfare, a frustrated Aldo fought with emotion, charged forward wildly, and left himself completely open.
“The Notorious” capitalized on the moment and knocked Aldo out cold with a single left hand in just 13 seconds of the very first round. Sharaf wanted to use that same psychological warfare because the mental edge was his only path to victory, as the math was completely against him.
Sharaf entered the cage as a massive +1000 betting underdog, meaning sportsbooks gave him virtually no chance to win. He also had to contend with pound-for-pound king Jon Jones guiding Steveson from the opposing corner.
To break those odds, Sharaf started launching his mental attack early. The tension peaked at the pre-fight press conference when Sharaf publicly brought up Steveson’s past legal troubles.
On fight night, Steveson rushed forward emotionally and completely forgot his defensive game plan. He left a massive opening, allowing Sharaf to land the decisive punch while Jones watched in shock from the sidelines.
After the fight, Steveson left the Octagon and went backstage before the referee read the official decision. Fans criticized the gold medalist for leaving early, but Jones took the blame on social media.
“It was my decision to take Gable straight to the back after the fight,” Jones wrote on X. “Honestly, it was the first time in this situation for me and my instant reaction was to get my friend to the back to make sure he was OK.”
He made it clear that Steveson still stands by his protege despite the historic upset. He praised Steveson’s work ethic and promised that the young heavyweight will learn from the mistake, bounce back and eventually become a UFC champion.
