Gable Steveson has issued a public statement denying a sexual assault allegation from 2019, days after the accusation was brought up by his opponent Sean Sharaf ahead of their UFC 331 heavyweight bout. According to POST Wrestling, Steveson wrote in his statement, “I did not do anything alleged,” directly addressing the case that surfaced during college.
Steveson’s statement came after Sharaf publicly referenced the 2019 allegations in the lead-up to the fight, according to Wrestling Headlines. Fightful reported that it was determined at the time that Steveson would not face criminal charges due to a lack of adequate evidence.
The statement followed the first professional MMA loss of Steveson’s career, as he was knocked out by Sharaf just 12 seconds into their bout at UFC 331. The result ended Steveson’s previously unbeaten start in mixed martial arts.
Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist who signed with WWE before pursuing MMA, has not faced criminal charges related to the 2019 allegation. His statement addressed both the knockout loss and the resurfaced accusation in the same response, according to the three outlets that reported on it.
