Valter
Walker believes Gable
Steveson wasn't mentally present in his sophomore outing in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship, which ended in a historic
upset.

Steveson was a massive favorite going into his matchup against
Sean
Sharaf at UFC
331 on Sept. 19, but the latter needed just 12 seconds to
dispatch the Olympic gold medalist, uncorking a left hook to put
him to sleep. Fans turned on Steveson throughout fight week and
Walker claims it affected Steveson's performance.

Valter Walker believes pre-fight backlash affected Gable
Steveson before his 12-second loss to Sean Sharaf

Steveson suffered the first loss of his mixed martial arts career
against the relatively unknown Sharaf, who was 0-2 in the UFC prior
to the clash against the credentialed wrestler. Walker says
Steveson was mentally affected by the online backlash he faced
before the fight. The Olympian was relentlessly booed at both the
press conference and the weigh-ins, further fueled by Sharaf
repeatedly bringing up past controversies.

Steveson even lost a significant number of followers on social
media. Moreover, the comments sections under all posts online about
the heavyweight were flooded with fans sharing his mug shot and
referencing his sexual assault allegations from 2019. Walker claims
this must have had a negative impact on his mindset going into the
bout.

“A lot of guys post a lot of sh*t about him on the internet and he
lost a lot of followers,†Walker told Red Corner MMA. “People are
calling him a rapist. I think he lost maybe half a million
followers on Instagram. And I think that sh*t can really shake your
head before a fight. You know, UFC is very big pressure. I think
people really f*cked with him mentally. He went into the cage, but
mentally, he wasn't there.â€

😳 Valter
Walker says people online “mentally f*cked†Gable
Steveson, putting a lot of pressure on him before his
fight:

“People were really getting on him online. I think he lost maybe
half a million followers on Instagram.

And I think that shit can get into your head before a… pic.twitter.com/AbYTJVxqYs

— Full Mount MMA (@MMAFullMount)
September 21, 2026

Abubakar
Nurmagomedov doesn't consider Arman
Tsarukyan a big name in freestyle wrestling.

Nurmagomedov recently returned to competition after a three-year
hiatus, taking on former
Ultimate Fighting Championship opponent David
Zawada in a wrestling match under the AIGA banner last weekend
in Istanbul, Turkey. The Russian defeated Zawada in just 60 seconds
via pinfall, avenging a UFC loss dating back to 2019.

Nurmagomedov says he wants massive wrestling matches against
legends of the sport and doesn't have top-ranked UFC lightweight
Tsarukyan in his sights.

Abubakar Nurmagomedov names Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Dauren
Kurugliev and Kyle Snyder as preferred opponents

Nurmagomedov wants freestyle wrestling to regain its lost glory. In
a recent interview, he claimed that the sport's popularity has
waned, which he wants to do something about.

“That's what I'm here for,†Nurmagomedov told Red Corner MMA. “We
need to put freestyle wrestling back on the map because people
forgot about it. We need to remind everyone of it. I’m here to show
the beauty of freestyle wrestling.â€

Nurmagomedov was then asked about a potential matchup against
Tsarukyan, who regularly competes in freestyle wrestling matches.
However, he doesn't consider “The Batman†a star in freestyle
wrestling. Nurmagomedov instead wants to face legends like
Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Dauren Kurugliev or Kyle Snyder.

“No, I want Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Dauren Kurugliev, or Kyle
Snyder,†Nurmagomedov added. “Why should I face some no-names? Give
me those giants of freestyle wrestling.â€

Nurmagomedov (17-4) is also set to return to mixed martial arts
competition against David
Martinez (17-6) at
PFL Dubai on Nov. 14.

Abubakar
Nurmagomedov says he wants to face the biggest names in
freestyle wrestling in super fights, while also looking to put the
sport back on the map and remind people about the beauty of
freestyle wrestling.

“Arman? No… I want Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Dauren Kurugliev, or…
pic.twitter.com/97mUE2c0jv

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
September 21, 2026

The
Professional Fighters League has announced the co-main event
for
PFL Dubai, which takes place on Nov. 14.

A welterweight matchup pits Belgium's undefeated Patrick
Habirora (9-0) against Omar El
Dafrawy (16-6), who previously captured the PFL MENA
welterweight championship.

Patrick Habirora meets Omar El Dafrawy in PFL Dubai co-main
event

Habirora has emerged as one of the PFL's most dangerous prospects.
The 25-year-old welterweight has recorded eight knockout victories
and one decision win in his career so far.

Seven of his finishes have come in the very first round. Most
recently, he stopped former
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Benson
Henderson in just 20 seconds at
PFL Brussels.

El Dafrawy brings considerably more experience into the matchup.
The 31-year-old Egyptian has nine wins by knockout and three by
submission. He's on a two-fight win streak and is 6-1 under the PFL
banner.

The event, slated for the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, will be
headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Vadim
Nemkov and Sergey
Bilostenniy.

ð—šð—¥ð—”ð—• ð—¬ð—¢ð—¨ð—¥ ð—£ð—¢ð—£ð—–ð—¢ð—¥ð—¡ ð—™ð—¢ð—¥ ð—§ð—›ð—œð—¦ ð—¢ð—¡ð—˜ ðŸ¿ðŸ”œ

Undefeated #4 Ranked Patrick Habirora clashes with #5 Ranked Omar
El-Dafrawy in a battle of ranked Welterweights in the Co-Main Event
of PFL Dubai!

It all goes down on Saturday, November 14th LIVE from the
Coca-Cola… pic.twitter.com/3gYaHGHj66

— PFL (@PFLMMA)
September 21, 2026