Gable Steveson’s UFC 331 debut lasted just 12 seconds, but somehow, the chaos didn’t stop when Sean Sharaf put him away. The Olympic gold medalist then ended up catching heat for walking out of the Octagon before Bruce Buffer officially announced the result, with fans wondering why he simply couldn’t stick around for the final call. But there was a pretty big detail everyone was missing.
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The 26-year-old didn’t actually make that call. Jon Jones, who was in his teammate’s corner that night, has now stepped in to set the record straight. And according to ‘Bones,’ he was the one who pulled Gable Steveson out of the Octagon and took him backstage after the brutal knockout.
“I’ve seen some reports online, and I really wanted to clear the air,” Jones wrote on X. “It was my decision to take Gable straight to the back after the fight.
“Honestly, it was the first time in this situation for me, and my instant reaction was to get my friend to the back to make sure he was ok.”
I’ve seen some reports on line and I really wanted to clear the air. It was my decision to take Gable straight to the back after the fight. Honestly it was the first time in this situation for me and my instant reaction was to get my friend to the back to make sure he was ok. Show more
According to Jon Jones, there was no walk-off drama here. It was his call, and his only concern was making sure his teammate was okay after taking such a nasty knockout.
Seeing your teammate get knocked out cold can be a tough sight for the guys standing in the corner. Fight fans got to see that at UFC Shanghai, when Usman Nurmagomedov immediately jumped into the cage after watching his brother and teammate, Umar Nurmagomedov, get stopped by Song Yadong.
This time, it was Jon Jones who found himself in a similar spot at UFC 331. And the footage from Gable Steveson’s corner tells the story pretty clearly. ‘Bones’ can be seen reacting as Sean Sharaf first landed a sharp right hand before following up with a nasty left hook that caught Steveson flush on the chin and sent the Olympic gold medalist crashing.
Steveson was out almost instantly, with ‘The Smoke’ getting the stoppage just 12 seconds into the fight. With his teammate clearly shaken after the brutal finish, the former UFC champion’s reaction was pretty simple: forget the cameras, forget the official announcement, just get Gable backstage and make sure he was okay.
And while the fight couldn’t have gone much worse for the 26-year-old, Jon Jones isn’t suddenly writing Gable Steveson off. If anything, ‘Bones’ still seems convinced that this is only the beginning for the Olympic gold medalist.
“Gable’s work ethic and will to win is there and I stand by him and believe he will go on to be one of the best heavyweights in the UFC,” he further added in the tweet. “He will be back; I’m sure of it.”
Steveson came into UFC 331 riding a ton of hype after winning his first four pro fights, including his UFC debut against Elisha Ellison back in July. But his second trip to the Octagon turned into a nightmare before he even had time to settle in.
Sean Sharaf’s lightning-fast finish also puts him among the quickest heavyweight knockouts in UFC history. Todd Duffee still owns the record with a ridiculous seven-second finish, while Jairzinho Rozenstruik sits at nine seconds. Sharaf’s 12-second knockout now puts him level with Walt Harris, with Anthony Hamilton just behind at 14 seconds.
For Gable Steveson, this could end up being nothing more than a rough bump early in his UFC journey, especially with ‘Bones’ still firmly in his corner and backing him to bounce back.
But not everyone thinks Gable Steveson can simply brush off the loss and move forward as usual. While Jon Jones has publicly thrown his support behind the heavyweight prospect, Colby Covington believes the Olympian needs to make a major change to his team if he wants to turn things around.
Colby Covington has advice for Gable Steveson, and it starts with firing Jon Jones
At 26, Gable Steveson already had plenty of hype behind him before stepping into the UFC. The former collegiate wrestling standout and Olympic gold medalist made the jump to MMA with a spotless 4-0 professional record, setting up plenty of expectations around what he could become inside the Octagon.
But Sean Sharaf hit the hype train with a sledgehammer. ‘The Smoke’ came into the matchup with a 5-2 record and had already dropped both of his previous UFC fights, making his explosive upset over the Olympian even more surprising.
Colby Covington, however, doesn’t seem particularly shocked by how things played out. In his view, Gable Steveson’s confidence may have gotten the better of him, and he believes the heavyweight prospect started drifting away from what had made him successful in the first place.
“You know, he was over-hyping himself, overlooking other competitors, and he just thought he was invincible,” Covington told Submission Radio after UFC 331. “When you get away from what brought you to the dance, that’s never going to be good for you.”
The former interim welterweight champion then turned his attention to the man standing in Gable Steveson’s corner: Jon Jones. ‘Chaos’ clearly wasn’t holding back when discussing the former UFC heavyweight champion’s influence on the 26-year-old.
“Jon Jones is bad energy. That guy’s a demon, man,” he continued.
Colby Covington believes Steveson needs to hit the reset button, starting with the people around him. In his view, a change of environment and a stronger team could help the Olympian get his career back on track.
“You’ve got to surround yourself in this life with good people that are like-minded, that work hard, that have faith in God, and aren’t just freaking piece of s—, people like Jon Jones,” he continued. “So, he should definitely cut Jon Jones, get to a new camp, get focused, start believing, and start using his wrestling.”
For now, Gable Steveson has to go back to the drawing board after suffering the first loss of his professional MMA career. Whether he takes Colby Covington’s advice or sticks with the team that has backed him so far remains to be seen.
One thing is clear, though: After a brutal 12-second public humiliation at UFC 331, the Olympian has plenty to prove when he finally steps back into the Octagon.