Gable Steveson was -2500 favorite for his second
Ultimate Fighting Championship fight against Old Sharaf
at UFC 331 on September 19. Sharaf pulled off a historic upset by knocking out Steveson in just 12 seconds, and Cejudo believes there are lessons to be learned about managing an MMA career from established fighters such as Bo Nickal.
Cejudo says Steveson needs more time to develop after Sean Sharaf’s UFC 331 upset
Cejudo believes fellow Olympic gold medalist Steveson is still too green for the UFC. The former two-division champion wants Steveson to develop a versatile arsenal by focusing solely on hitting throughout the year. “Triple C” also hopes collegiate wrestling standout Nickal learns from Steveson’s loss.
“You can’t rush the game,” Cejudo said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. “And I hope Bo Nickal sees that shit, too. You’ve got to be able to respect the game, focus on MMA and just do it. My next thing for Gable Steveson is to take the whole damn year off and just get better defensively. Because if he’s just going to hit, hit all year. You’re still young; forget about all the other matchmaking.”
Steveson (4-1) had stopped all four of his MMA fights, including his UFC debut, in the first round before losing to Sharaf. Nickal (9-1), meanwhile, had just one pro MMA fight before earning two wins
Dana White Candidate Series to secure a UFC contract in 2023. Nickal went undefeated in his first four UFC outings before he was stopped Reinier de Ridder and have since rebounded with back-to-back stoppage wins Rodolfo Vieira and Kyle Daukaus.
