Hokit accuses Steveson of faking Jackson-Wink ties while secretly training with Jones

Josh Hokit has accused fellow UFC heavyweight Gable Steveson of falsely claiming an association with Jackson-Wink MMA, alleging the Olympic gold medallist trains privately with Jon Jones rather than at the renowned Albuquerque gym where Hokit is based.

Speaking to Jorge Masvidal, Hokit was blunt about Steveson’s absence from the facility. “He claims it, he’s not here,” Hokit said. “I gave him a chance to be here and train with me, but he ain’t here. He’s doing his own thing with Jon Jones and he’s got stretch marks around his mouth. My team is close-knit. He’s not here at Jackson-Wink. That’s why I don’t play tic-tac-toe. Cause I don’t want squares around my circle. And if he’s not a part of my circle, motherf**ker’s a square then.”

The accusation carries added weight given Jones’s history with Jackson-Wink. The former light heavyweight champion was banned from the gym in 2021 following another run-in with law enforcement. Steveson, who was training at Jackson-Wink at the time of the ban, had already been skipping group sessions ahead of his most recent fight.

That bout, at UFC 331 in September, ended in stunning fashion. Steveson entered as a heavy favourite against Sean Sharaf but was knocked out cold in just 12 seconds — one of the most shocking upsets in recent UFC heavyweight history.

Hokit, by contrast, is riding momentum heading into a heavyweight title shot. He is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane at UFC 334 on 14 November at Madison Square Garden in New York, a fight that will define where he stands among the division’s elite.

The public callout adds a layer of intrigue to Hokit’s pre-fight camp, suggesting tensions within the broader Jackson-Wink network as he prepares for the biggest night of his career.