Covington Tells Steveson To Dump Jones After UFC 331 Loss

Gable Steveson should ditch Jon Jones and return to his wrestling roots after getting knocked out in 12 seconds at UFC 331, according to Colby Covington.

Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist training under Jones, was caught flush by Sean Sharaf with a left hook in the opening exchange of their heavyweight bout. The former wrestler fled the cage alongside Jones to a chorus of boos, per MMA Mania's report on the shocking upset.

Covington Blames Jones For Steveson's UFC 331 Collapse

Covington told Submission Radio he saw the knockout coming, arguing that Steveson abandoned the grappling skills that made him an elite athlete. "You don't see him try to wrestle in any fights, he's just going straight into striking," Covington said, per MMA Junkie. "When you get away from what brought you to the dance, that's never going to be good for you."

The former welterweight title challenger went further, blaming Jones for bringing negative influence into Steveson's camp. "Jon Jones is bad energy," Covington said. "That guy is a demon, man. We've seen the long laundry list of bad things he's done to women, to people, to cops, to drug testers." He called Jones a detrimental presence and advised Steveson to switch camps entirely.

Whether Steveson fights again remains uncertain given his history of walking away from WWE and NFL pursuits. Jones, making his first public move as a coach, watched his star pupil get starched in the most brutal fashion possible.

If Steveson does return to the cage, using his wrestling seems like the obvious adjustment after two straight knockout losses.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Abandon ship? UFC 331 loser Gable Steveson advised to dump ‘horrible person’ Jon Jones, return to wrestling roots