Covington urges Steveson to drop Jon Jones after 12-second KO loss at UFC 331

Gable Steveson’s MMA debut chapter took a damaging turn at UFC 331, where the Olympic wrestling champion was stopped in just 12 seconds by heavy underdog Sean Sharaf — and former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington wasted little time offering his diagnosis.

Speaking to Submission Radio, Covington argued that Steveson’s association with Jon Jones — his Iowa Central Community College roommate and training partner — is a core part of the problem. “Jon Jones is bad energy,” Covington said. “That guy is a demon, man. So, he should definitely cut Jon Jones, and get to a new camp, get focused and start believing and start using his wrestling, what got you to the dance.”

Covington’s central criticism was that Steveson has drifted away from the elite-level wrestling that earned him Olympic gold, instead gravitating toward striking — a transition that “Chaos” believes has left him exposed. “You don’t see him try to wrestle in any fights; he’s just going straight into striking,” Covington said. “But when you forget about what got you to the dance, that’s always going to be a recipe for disaster.”

The 12-second finish by Sharaf, who entered the bout as a significant underdog, represents Steveson’s first defeat in mixed martial arts and raises serious questions about his development trajectory as a heavyweight prospect. Covington claimed the result was foreseeable, pointing to what he described as overconfidence on Steveson’s part. “He was over-hyping himself, overlooking other competitors and he just thought he was invincible,” he said.

Covington’s prescription is straightforward: leave Jones behind, relocate to a new camp, and rebuild around the wrestling pedigree that made Steveson one of the most heralded combat sports prospects to enter the UFC in recent years.