Gable Steveson has issued a statement addressing a 2019 sexual assault allegation from his college years, which resurfaced publicly ahead of his UFC 331 bout against Sean Sharaf. The former WWE Superstar was knocked out by Sharaf in just 12 seconds, suffering the first loss of his professional MMA career.
According to multiple outlets, Sharaf referenced the allegation during the pre-fight build, publicly calling Steveson a “rapist” in comments made ahead of the fight. Fightful reported that it was previously determined Steveson would not face criminal charges over the 2019 allegation due to a lack of adequate evidence. In his statement following the loss, Steveson denied the allegation.
In a column for POST Wrestling, John Pollock examined how the case, largely dormant in public conversation since 2019, returned to the forefront once Sharaf raised it publicly at the UFC 331 press conference and the fight itself went badly for Steveson.
Steveson, who transitioned from a decorated amateur wrestling and WWE background into mixed martial arts, had been unbeaten in his MMA career prior to the UFC 331 defeat. The loss to Sharaf, combined with the renewed attention on the 2019 allegation, has made the fallout a significant storyline surrounding Steveson’s combat sports career going forward.
