Daniel Cormier blasts 'ungrateful' Gable Steveson after what he did following UFC 331 KO

Daniel Cormier has slammed Gable Steveson as an 'ungrateful loser' after what he did following his knockout defeat at the hands of Sean Sharaf at UFC 331.

Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist wrestler, switched to MMA last year after a heavily-panned three-year stint in WWE, and won his debut UFC fight against Elisha Ellison in July.

But his second fight, against Sharaf, lasted just 12 seconds as he was knocked out with a brutal punch to the jaw. And Cormier, who was on co-commentary, was highly critical of Steveson's post-fight antics.

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'Ungrateful...' - Gable Steveson called out over UFC 331 post-fight actions

After his KO defeat, Steveson opted to leave the Octagon without first waiting for his opponent's hand to be raised.

While he would doubtless have been feeling disorientated after receiving a knockout blow, Cormier believed that was no excuse.

"Gable made some mistakes in there," Cormier said. "You're a 4-0 fighter: wrestle. You have to.

"And also, you stand there and you take your lick whenever you lose. You let that man get his hand raised, and you stand there no matter how you feel. If you're concussed, cry. I did it! There's the truth. But you take your lick whenever stuff don't [go your way].

"You cannot be a great winner, but then an ungrateful loser. And I think that was bad by Steveson."

As he left the arena alongside Jon Jones, Steveson was greeted with boos from a significant number of those in attendance at the Crypto.com Arena.

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Gable Steveson narrowly avoided setting unwanted UFC record

Steveson's 12-second defeat placed him joint-third in the all-time ranking for the fastest losses in UFC history.

Todd Duffee currently holds the record, having knocked out Tim Hague in just seven seconds at UFC 102 back in 2009. Jairzinho Rozenstruik won in nine seconds against Allen Crowder back in 2019.

Steveson was the heavy favourite to beat Sharaf, and the 26-year-old has now incurred his first defeat in the UFC.

During his time in WWE, Steveson had only one televised match in NXT, the company's developmental brand.

He wrestled Baron Corbin to a double countout result at The Great American Bash in 2023, with his performance criticised. He also received boos from the crowd in attendance.

Steveson competed in several dark - non-televised - matches on SmackDown, and wrestled on NXT house shows, but was quietly released in the summer of 2024.

His older brother Robert, who wrestled under the ring name Damon Kemp, achieved more success as part of the No Quarter Catch Crew stable led by Charlie Dempsey, the son of William Regal. He left WWE in 2024 after his contract was not renewed.