Chael Sonnen hypes up Gable Steveson's imminent UFC return after KO defeat
Chael Sonnen has lent his support to Gable Steveson amid the wave of criticism he's facing after his first MMA defeat.
Gable Steveson has been the recipient of sharp and widespread criticism as of late, having suffered the first defeat of his professional MMA career.
The 26-year-old's first loss is believed to have been amplified much more than that of most other mixed martial arts athletes, as he had consistently been touted by many fans and experts as a future UFC heavyweight champion.
Former MMA star Chael Sonnen has chimed in with some apparent support for him. "The American Gangster" notably suggested that Steveson is still a prominent prospect in the sport, adding that his eventual comeback fight would generate the most interest that any of his fights have thus far.
Gable Steveson's defeat to Sean Sharaf at UFC 331 has been a hot-button topic
Gable Steveson notched Olympic gold in the sport of freestyle wrestling, in the 125 kg category, to be specific, back in 2020. He also ventured into American Football as well as professional wrestling-based sports entertainment in the WWE.
His decisions to try his hand at multiple sports eventually led him to mixed martial arts, wherein he put together a 3-0 record before making his UFC promotional debut in July. He KO'd Elisha Ellison in round one in his maiden Octagon appearance.
Steveson's next, and most recent, fight witnessed him suffer a 12-second KO loss at the hands of Sean Sharaf at UFC 331 on September 19. It's been one of the biggest storylines to emerge from the high-profile UFC 331 event.
Chael Sonnen hypes up Gable Steveson's imminent UFC return, hints that the star prospect can still make an impact
Taking to his official YouTube channel, ex-UFC star Chael Sonnen alluded to the wave of condemnation Gable Steveson has faced for his vicious knockout loss at UFC 331, especially due to his losing after having been hyped as the next big heavyweight star in MMA.
Sonnen, on his part, implied that despite the loss, none of the heavyweights on the roster have called him out for a fight yet. He seemed to suggest that Steveson is indeed viewed as a tough stylistic matchup, what with his extraordinary wrestling prowess, for anyone in the UFC.
He stated, "The one other thing that I have noticed in the media -- not one guy has called him out. Not one guy has challenged Gable."
The MMA personality explained, "And the fight that he had was a pretty big fight. A lot of people were interested in it. Certainly, coming out of the UFC, it has been the number-one topic... So whatever Gable does next, very obviously, is going to be big. Whether you're tuning in to see him succeed or fail, either way, we do understand that we're gonna be tuning in."
Sonnen added, "As a matter of fact, not only are we interested in Gable, we are at our height of interest in Gable. Whatever he does next, we're going to be most interested in."
Moreover, Steveson has been scrutinized for the s**ual assault accusations and infamous Minnesota 'loophole' legal battle he was involved in, stemming from a 2019 alleged s**ual assault incident. The fiasco is said to have played a significant role in fanning the flames of negative fan sentiment against him in the MMA sphere.
Watch Chael Sonnen cite the allure of Gable Steveson's imminent return to the Octagon below (*comments at the 4:15-minute mark of the video):
