Sean Sharaf Stuns Gable Steveson in 12 Seconds at UFC 331

Sean Sharaf needed twelve seconds. Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist UFC had been quietly building toward a title run, walked forward and never saw the left hook coming. He was face down before the crowd had settled into their seats. Steveson left the cage in a hurry afterward, which did not sit well with the people watching, and Dana White did not pretend otherwise when asked about it.

Joshua Van had the tougher job and did it the hard way. Five rounds against Alexandre Pantoja, same result as their fight ten months earlier, unanimous decision, flyweight title still around Van's waist. Pantoja pushed him the whole way. Van answered every push.

Arman Tsarukyan did not need five rounds. He found Mauricio Ruffy early, dropped him, and finished it with seconds left in the opening round. It is the kind of win that ends arguments, and it left Tsarukyan sitting exactly where he wanted to be in the lightweight picture. Justin Gaethje's name came up immediately, and not from White's side.

Tai Tuivasa lost again, a split decision to Robelis Despaigne on the prelims, his eighth straight defeat inside the Octagon. Despaigne is the one who should be getting the phone calls this week. Eight losses in a row for a name fighter is a number White addressed without much room for optimism.

Tsarukyan is the fighter who left Los Angeles with the most changed. A first-round knockout of that quality, against a game opponent, is hard to argue with, and White said as much afterward. Everything he needed to do to get back into title contention, he did in under five minutes.

Reporting from Yahoo MMA, ESPN MMA, Sherdog, Fightful.