Gable Steveson Returns at UFC 331 as Despaigne-Tuivasa Books LA Card

The UFC has locked in three more bouts for UFC 331 on Sept. 19 at LA's crypto.com Arena, headlined by the storylines but not yet by a main event. Chief among the additions: Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, a perfect 4-0 in MMA, gets his second Octagon walk against Sean Sharaf. If you blinked during Steveson's debut, you missed it — every one of his pro fights has ended in under four minutes.

Steveson's UFC opener came on the Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 undercard in July, where he flattened Elisha Ellison inside a round. Sharaf (4-2) walks in with a tougher assignment than his record suggests, having opened his UFC run 0-2 with back-to-back knockout losses to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund. He needs a win badly; Steveson needs a test.

The Heavyweight Crossroads

The night's most intriguing veteran matchup pits returning knockout artist Robelis Despaigne (6-2) against Tai Tuivasa (14-10). Despaigne left the UFC in 2024, then rebuilt his stock elsewhere — he stopped former champ Junior dos Santos on MVP's inaugural MMA card in May and racked up six finishes across seven Karate Combat bouts between 2024 and 2025. Now 'The Big Boy' is back.

Tuivasa, meanwhile, is fighting for his job. The Australian has lost seven straight, a slide that started with four consecutive stoppage defeats before three decision losses to Louie Sutherland, Tallison Teixeira and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. It's easy to forget he was rolling not long ago, finishing names like Derrick Lewis and Greg Hardy on a five-fight tear between 2020 and 2022. A loss here likely ends his UFC run.

The third confirmed bout is a middleweight scrap between Ryan Gandra (10-1) and Ozzy Diaz (10-4). Gandra has been ruthless early in the Octagon, opening his UFC tenure with knockouts over Jose Medina and Zach Reese. Diaz is looking to bounce back after Ateba Gautier — now 11-1 with nine KOs — stopped him with second-round punches.

The card streams live on Paramount+, though the promotion still hasn't revealed a headliner. Until it does, Steveson's continued fast-forward MMA education and the make-or-break heavyweight collision give LA plenty to chew on.