Gable
Steveson was a -2500 favorite going into his second
Ultimate Fighting Championship bout against Sean Sharaf
at UFC
331 on Sept. 19. Sharaf pulled off a historic upset by knocking
Steveson out in just 12 seconds and Cejudo believes there's a
lesson to be learned about managing an MMA career for credentialled
wrestlers like Bo
Nickal.

Cejudo says Steveson needs more time to develop after Sean
Sharaf's UFC 331 upset

Cejudo believes fellow Olympic gold medalist wrestler Steveson is
still too green for the UFC. The former two-division champ wants
Steveson to develop a well-rounded arsenal by focusing solely on
striking for a full year. “Triple C†also hopes collegiate
wrestling standout Nickal learns from Steveson's loss.

“You cannot hurry up in the game,†Cejudo said on the “Pound 4
Pound†podcast. “And I hope Bo Nickal can also see this sh*t. You
got to be able to respect the game, focus on mixed martial arts and
just do that. My next thing for Gable Steveson is, he needs to take
a whole f*cking year and just get better defensively. Because if he
is just gonna strike, then strike for one whole year. You're still
young; forget about doing anything with matches in grappling and
all this other stuff.â€

Steveson (4-1) had finished all four of his MMA fights in the first
round, including his UFC debut, before losing to Sharaf. Meanwhile,
Nickal (9-1) had just one pro MMA fight before earning two wins on

Dana White's Contender Series to secure a UFC contract in 2023.
Nickal went undefeated in his first four UFC outings before being
stopped by Reinier
de Ridder and has since rebounded with back-to-back stoppage
wins over Rodolfo
Vieira and Kyle
Daukaus.

Steveson took on Sean Sharaf
in his second
Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance at UFC
331 in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. Jones watched from Steveson's
corner as the latter was knocked out by Sharaf in 12 seconds in a
massive upset. Steveson later faced backlash for exiting the
Octagon, escorted by Jones, before Sharaf got his hand raised.

Jon Jones says he made the call to leave after Gable Steveson's
12-second knockout loss

Jones recently took the blame for Steveson's premature departure
from the Octagon. “Bones†claims it was the first time that he had
faced such a situation and instinctively wanted to take his friend
backstage to check on him.

“I've seen some reports online and I really wanted to clear the
air,†Jones posted on X. “It was my decision to take Gable straight
to the back after the fight. Honestly, it was the first time in
this situation for me and my instant reaction was to get my friend
to the back to make sure he was OK.â€

The former two-division champ is confident that Steveson with
return stronger and eventually emerge as one of the best
heavyweights.

“Gable's work ethic and will to win is there and I stand by him and
believe he will go on to be one of the best heavyweights in the
UFC. He will be back I'm sure of it.â€

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.