Steveson Returns At UFC 331 Alongside Despaigne

Gable Steveson will make his second UFC appearance on Sept. 19 when he faces Sean Sharaf at UFC 331 in Los Angeles, the promotion announced Tuesday.

The Olympic gold medalist wrestling standout improved to 4-0 in July with a first-round knockout of Elisha Ellison on the McGregor-Holloway 2 card. None of Steveson's four MMA bouts have reached the four-minute mark. Sharaf enters the bout 0-2 inside the octagon after back-to-back knockout losses to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund.

Despaigne Returns After MVP Knockout Win

Robelis Despaigne will step back into the UFC cage for the first time since 2024, taking on veteran Tai Tuivasa in another heavyweight addition to the crypto.com Arena card. Despaigne scored a knockout over Junior dos Santos on MVP's inaugural MMA show in May and compiled six finishes across seven Karate Combat appearances between 2024 and 2025, per MMA Fighting.

Tuivasa has dropped seven consecutive UFC bouts, the last three by decision against Louie Sutherland, Tallison Teixeira and Jairzinho Rozenstruik after absorbing four straight stoppages. The Australian finished five straight opponents from 2020 to 2022, including Derrick Lewis and Greg Hardy, before the current skid.

The promotion also added a middleweight clash between Ryan Gandra and Ozzy Diaz to the lineup. Gandra enters off two knockout wins over Jose Medina and Zach Reese to open his UFC tenure, while Diaz looks to bounce back from a loss to Ateba Gautier. UFC 331 airs live on Paramount+ with no headliner announced.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — 3 new fights added to UFC 331, including Gable Steveson’s sophomore appearance