Hokit Says Steveson Wasn't Sparring Before UFC 331 KO

Gable Steveson entered UFC 331 without proper sparring sessions, according to Josh Hokit, who fights Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title next month.

Hokit told Ariel Helwani that the Olympic gold medalist failed to take his cage debut seriously. "I heard he's not practicing properly," Hokit said, per MMA Mania. "I heard he's not even sparring. We'll see what he's made out of. Adversity is here."

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Steveson's UFC 331 Preparation Under Fire

Steveson dropped his first professional MMA fight when Sean Sharaf knocked him out in Los Angeles earlier this month. The loss removed the 24-year-old from heavyweight title contention after a brief promotional push tied to his wrestling pedigree.

Hokit, who trains at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, also questioned Steveson's association with Jon Jones and his team's crisis management after Sharaf confronted him about a past sexual assault allegation. "Someone should have told him, 'Hey, you need to be prepared to answer this question,'" Hokit added. "He had no answer for it."

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The undefeated heavyweight challenger meets Gane at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 in New York City after Tom Aspinall vacated the belt.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Gable Steveson wasn’t ‘practicing properly’ for UFC 331, ‘not even sparring’ ahead of shocking KO loss