Sharaf was a huge underdog going into it
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight match against Steveson at UFC 331. He knocked Steveson out cold in 12 seconds in a huge upset and has since revealed that he knew the Olympian was underestimating him, which only motivated him.
Sharaf says Steveson’s RAF 12 wrestling match during the UFC camp lit a fire under him
Sharaf recently revealed that a specific moment determined that Steveson looked past him. Steveson (4-1) defeated Anthony Cassioppi in an RAF 12 wrestling match less than a month before his fight with Sharaf. When Sharaf saw Steveson doing side tasks during the fight camp, he knew the Olympic gold medalist was overconfident.
“He did the (Real American Freestyle) match,” Sharaf told TMZ Sports. “He did a wrestling match like a month ago and that’s when I knew. He’s in fight camp and he’s going to do another event.”
Meanwhile, it was a do-or-die fight for Sharaf (5-2), having been knocked out in both of his previous UFC bouts. Even though he knew he was seen as a stepping stone for Steveson, the former US Marine was determined to win.
“I was on the chopping block,” added Sharaf. “Literally, everybody was like, ‘He even said in his interview, ‘He’s a sacrificial lamb, he’s a coward, he’s looking for a way out,’ and I’m like, ‘Bro, I signed it, bro. I signed the contract.” I’m definitely going to show up for fight night and I’m definitely here to beat the hell out of it.
Sharaf then doubled down on his advice to never underestimate an opponent, especially at the highest level.
“It’s another lesson, like, bro, you can’t underestimate anybody. Like I said, he’s got two arms, he’s got two legs, he bleeds red and you can be touched, especially in the UFC.”
