Time to get a nicer mattress

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland appears to be among those most proud of Sean Sharaf, who may have just become an overnight sensation after knocking out Olympic gold medalist and promising UFC heavyweight Gable Steveson at UFC 331.

Following the spectacular knockout, Strickland took to social media to celebrate the former Marine, sharing a screenshot of a message exchange between the pair.

In the conversation, Sharaf sent Strickland a picture of his belongings laid out in his room, revealing that he had been sleeping on a workout mat. Strickland, seemingly taken aback by his friend’s living situation, responded by urging him to get a cheap box-spring mattress.

Luckily for Sharaf, his performance against Steveson earned him the $50,000 Proper Chaos bonus for the event, which Dana White matched, giving him a combined $100,000 bonus on top of his fight purse.

Reacting to Sharaf’s $100K win, Strickland wrote:

“@sharafmma time to get a nicer mattress after that 100k bonus you’re about to get.”

Check out Sean Strickland and Sean Sharaf’s texts below:

Sharaf entered his UFC 331 bout against Steveson as a massive underdog, with the UFC’s official website listing the Olympic champion as a -2000 favorite. As the fight began, the 26-year-old rushed to meet Sharaf in the center of the cage with a leg kick.

The former United States Marine quickly pushed back his fellow American before unloading a right hand that grazed Steveson’s chin, followed by a nuclear left that shut his lights out.

Watch Sean Sharaf knock out Gable Steveson below:

Sharaf then followed up with a brief flurry of ground-and-pound before the referee stepped in to stop the fight just 12 seconds into the opening round.

The loss to Sharaf marked the first setback of Steveson’s MMA career. He entered UFC 331 riding a four-fight streak of first-round knockouts.

Meanwhile, Sharaf entered UFC 331 having lost his first two fights in the promotion by TKO, making his stunning upset over Steveson all the more significant. The victory not only marked a remarkable turnaround for the former Marine but could also have saved his UFC career from being cut short.

Edited by Ujwal Jain