At the UFC 331 press conference, Sean Sharaf referred to his opponent Gable Steveson as a “rapist”.
Steveson didn’t get a warm welcome from fans when he attempted to answer questions posed to him.
“I love seeing all these beautiful faces here. You came to watch us on stage. What a what a great opportunity to see us on this stage and cheer and boot for us. How’s it feel to pay for this ticket? Man, we feel good. It’s honor to be here. Honestly, I’m so excited to compete Saturday. I’m so excited for you guys to watch another showcase of me, and man, wow! This is amazing. Look at y’all. Appreciate it,” he said in response to the reaction he got.
He was asked about Sharaf and said: “I’m so excited to be here. Like I said, maybe this is well earned at this point, but you know, I went from prelims to main card and it’s an honor to be here and it’s honored to to be in front of these people who are excessively cheering me for greatness…I’m motivated to win. I’m motivated to come out here and put on a show for the good crowd. I respect Sean served as an opponent, and he came to battle, and that’s what I signed up for too.”
When it was Sharaf’s turn to comment on the upcoming fight he answered: “I don’t dislike the guy. Nobody likes a rapist. This guy raped a woman in 2019 and that’s why everyone’s bullying him. You can’t do that s–t. It’s wrong.”
Trying to keep a smile on his face, Steveson fired back with: “He’s already lost just by saying that. He’s a coward. He’s already looking at the way out. He’s looking at the way out of this opportunity. He’s here because of me, and this would be a great opportunity to go against Gable Steveson.”
Sharaf then switched gears.
“Okay, why did you turn down the White House card fight?” he asked.
“I wasn’t offered the White House,” Steveson answered. “What are you talking about?”.
“Okay, loophole,” said Sharaf.
Steveson claimed he will “flatline” Sharaf on Saturday.
“You’re going be shooting for your life, buddy. You can’t strike. You know you’re not going strike with me. You’re going for a takedown. You already know that,” said Sharaf.
Steveson, the former brief WWE superstar, was arrested along with a Minnesota teammate in 2019 on the suspicion of sexual assault. Six months later, it was announced that neither would face criminal charges due to “inadequate evidence” therefore Steveson was never charged or even convicted of sexual assault.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman the Associated Press that “all criminal cases, including sexual assault crimes, must meet the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“There are often conflicting versions of what happened and this case is no exception. In the interest of justice, there is inadequate evidence to fairly charge and prosecute this case,” he said.
Freeman also said that due to Minnesota’s laws concerning intoxication and a victim’s ability to give consent, his office’s hands were tied.
At the time, Steveson’s attorney Christa Groshek said that her client was: “100% innocent”.
