The UFC has announced three new fights for its upcoming numbered event in Los Angeles on Sept. 19, including the second octagon appearance of Gable Steveson and the promotional return of Robelis Despaigne.
Steveson will take on Sean Sharaf, while Despaigne takes on octagon veteran Tai Tuivasa. The other bout officially announced for the line-up is a middleweight showdown between Ryan Gandra and Ozzy Diaz.
UFC 331 will take place at the crypto.com Arena and air live on Paramount+, but the company has
yet to reveal the headlining attraction.
Wrestling great Steveson (4-0) made short work of Elisha Ellison in the undercard Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 in July in his first UFC bout, winning by first-round knockout. All his MMA fights lasted less than four minutes.
Sharaf (4-2), on the other hand, looks to rebound from a 0-2 start in the UFC with back-to-back knockout defeats to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund.
Despaigne (6-2) makes his way back to the octagon after a vicious knockout over Junior dos Santos on MVP’s first MMA show in May, his first bout since parting ways with the UFC in 2024. ‘The Big Boy” also scored six finishes in seven Karate Combat matches between 2024 and 2025.
Also in the heavyweight division, Tuivasa (14-10) has his back against the wall after dropping seven in a row in the UFC, a trio of decisions versus Louie Sutherland, Tallison Teixeira and Jairzinho Rozenstruik after being stopped four times straight. Tuivasa won his previous five before the skid, finishing the likes of Derrick Lewis and Greg Hardy between 2020 and 2022.
Gandra (10-1) re-enters the cage after starting his UFC career with a pair of knockouts against Jose Medina and Zach Reese, while Diaz (10-4) attempts to rebound from a loss to Ateba Gautier.
