Covington Tells Steveson to Dump Jones After 12-Second KO
Following a historic upset loss, Colby Covington urges Gable Steveson to abandon Jon Jones and return to his wrestling roots.
Key points
- Gable Steveson was knocked out in 12 seconds by Sean Sharaf at UFC 331, a historic upset.
- Colby Covington criticizes Steveson for abandoning his wrestling base in favor of pure striking.
- Covington urges Steveson to cut ties with Jon Jones, whom he describes as a negative influence.
The lights at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles still hummed with the shock of the night when Sean Sharaf dropped Gable Steveson in a mere twelve seconds. It was a main card heavyweight bout that shattered expectations, turning a massive favorite into a cautionary tale within the blink of an eye. The canvas floor of the octagon held the weight of one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, leaving the crowd in a stunned silence that felt heavier than the roar that preceded it.
Colby Covington, watching from the sidelines of the fight world, saw the collapse not as a fluke but as a predictable unraveling. For the former interim champion, the loss was the inevitable result of Steveson drifting away from the discipline that built his career. In an interview with Submission Radio, Covington laid out his critique with the sharpness of a veteran who has weathered similar storms, arguing that the Olympic wrestler had forgotten the very foundation that brought him to the dance.
Abandoning the wrestling foundation
Covington observed that Steveson had stopped attempting takedowns, relying instead on a striking style that felt disconnected from his core identity. He suggested the fighter either doubted his cardiovascular endurance or had fallen in love with the idea of knocking people out. "When you get away from what brought you to the dance, that's never going to be good for you," Covington stated. He viewed the shift as a recipe for disaster, a strategic error that invited the kind of quick, decisive punishment Sharaf delivered.
The advice is clear: return to the roots. Covington believes that re-engaging with wrestling will restore the balance that striking alone cannot provide. It is a call to restructure the training regimen, to ground the fighter in the mat work that defined his amateur career. Without that anchor, the fighter is merely floating, vulnerable to the sudden, violent corrections that the sport often demands from those who overestimate their reach.
Jon Jones identified as the source
The finger points directly at Jon Jones, the former college roommate and current mentor. Covington does not mince words in his assessment of Jones, labeling him a source of bad energy that permeates the camp. He cites a long list of past controversies, describing Jones as a "demon" whose negative influence rubs off on those who surround themselves with him. For Covington, the association is toxic, a corruption of the focus and faith required to succeed at the highest level.
A call for a fresh start
MMA Junkie reports that Covington is urging a complete severance of ties. He argues that Steveson must cut Jones from his life, seek a new camp, and rebuild his confidence. The goal is to align with people who are hardworking and grounded, rather than those who embody the chaos Covington sees in Jones. It is a plea for a reset, a chance to believe in the process again before the next time the lights go up in the octagon.
