Brown Tells Steveson To Drop Jones As Coach

Retired UFC fighter Matt Brown thinks Gable Steveson should drop Jon Jones as his coach following the Olympic gold medalist's shocking 12-second knockout loss at UFC 331.

Steveson fell to Sean Sharaf earlier this month despite entering as a heavy betting favourite. The defeat sparked criticism of his post-fight conduct and the mentorship he has received from Jones, with Colby Covington already calling on Steveson to make a change in his corner.

Brown Questions Jones' Coaching Approach

Brown echoed that sentiment on MMA Fighting's podcast. "Going to the arena with Jon Jones, driving down Hollywood Boulevard in a Mercedes or Rolls Royce or whatever it was — it doesn't feel like Jon Jones is the right guy to be coaching him and to be guiding him through this," Brown said, per BJ Penn. He added that Steveson's responses to criticism were "absolutely terrible" and faulted how the fighter handled the fallout.

Jones admitted after the fight that he instructed Steveson to leave the cage and acknowledged it was his first time navigating that moment as a coach. Brown believes sticking with Jones would hurt Steveson's trajectory.

"I think he's unstoppable if he has the right hunger and motivation and then I have to question the coaching," Brown said. "He's got to have the right coaching. Jon Jones trying to teach him to be Jon Jones is not the way."

Steveson competed under Jones' Dirty Boxing Championship banner before joining the UFC roster and held a 4-0 record before the Sharaf knockout. No word yet on whether the 24-year-old heavyweight plans to shake up his team ahead of his next bout.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Another UFC name thinks Gable Steveson should axe Jon Jones from team: “He’s got to have the right coaching”