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Gable Steveson’s team is staying positive in the face of a shocking defeat in brutal fashion.

Steveson had his fifth pro MMA fight this past Saturday against Sean Sharaf at UFC 331, and he didn’t envision the fight playing out the way that it did. The Olympic gold medalist was dropped by a flush left hook, and the follow-up ground punches were simply academic. Steveson was out cold, putting an end to his unbeaten run in just 12 seconds.

Many believe Steveson had a disastrous fight week due to his response to Sharaf calling him out for past sexual assault accusations. Steveson’s manager, Abe Kawa, hopped on his Instagram account to share words of encouragement for his fighter.

“It’s ok that Gable got caught,” Kawa wrote. “It’s ok that he was booed. It’s ok his opponent talked sh*t. It’s ok that the world is kicking him when down. It’s the life he chose. Islam got clipped. Arman has lost. DJ has lost. Gsp lost. Dc lost. Jose Aldo lost. All went on to have absolutely legendary careers. We stand by our guy. He will be back real soon and he will be great!”

Steveson was criticized for making an early exit from the Octagon before Bruce Buffer read the official result. Despite scrutiny from the likes of UFC 331 color commentator Daniel Cormier, Dana White didn’t appear to be as harsh on Steveson for walking off early.

While this is easily the biggest win of Sharaf’s pro MMA career up to this point, this will be a massive test for Steveson. How the former WWE star will respond to the defeat will be something to keep an eye on in the coming months.

Do you think Gable Steveson will go back to his wrestling roots in his next outing, or will he stick to the standup? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM