Covington advises Steveson to part ways with Jones after knockout

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Jon Jones provides instruction to Gable Steveson prior to a heavyweight fight against Sean Sharaf during the UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Colby Covington and Jon Jones are back at it again. One-time roommates at Iowa Central Community College, Covington and Jones had history together before either man ever stepped into a cage. But after both became prominent members of the UFC, beef arose, with Covington frequently trashing Jones, and “Bones” responding. Well, it’s happened again. Over the past couple of years, Jones has worked with Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson, with the idea of shepherding Steveson to greatness. But that plan hit a snag at UFC 331 when Sean Sharaf knocked Steveson out in just 12 seconds. It was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, and immediately the MMA community piled on Steveson for his disrespect of Sharaf before the fight, and for leaving the cage before the official announcement afterwards. And Covington believes there’s one man to blame: his old roommate. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Covington took the opportunity to trash Steveson and Jones over the incident, warning Steveson to separate himself from Jones. “It was pitiful. It was embarrassing. Dude, you’ve always been a winner, and you’ve won your whole life; take your loss like a man. Why are you running out of the cage crying, running away from your reality? Your reality is you got knocked out. You put your hands down; you weren’t ready for the moment. “I think a lot of bad energy comes onto him from Jon Jones. … He’s a piece of shit. He’s a woman beater. He’s a demon. He’s an evil person. All the chemicals he’s put in his body, steroids, his whole career. Multiple failed tests, picograms, drugs, cocaine, party, women, hookers! He’s just not a good person. “That kind of energy will transform on to someone else. And Gable thinks it’s cool. ‘Oh, I’m hanging out with one of the greatest fighters of all time. Oh, I’m so cool!’ But really, he’s just killing himself. He’s ruining his own career, because energy is everything. You’re now taking energy from a guy that’s a literal demon, and you’re putting it into your career, and he’s filling your head with false hope, and telling you all these things, but that’s not reality. And now he met his reality; he was upset, and we’ve got to see how he comes back. “I don’t know if he comes back. He’s got to really put his mind to it, and he’s got to change camps. I think he’s got to go get legit sparring, get to a big camp, and get that piece of shit, felon, terrible human being, wife beater out of your corner. Jon Jones is dirty, bro. Get that guy out of there.” Covington added that, while he’d like to see Steveson leave Jones and Jackson-Wink, he doesn’t believe that’s likely. “He just likes the attention,” Covington said. “He likes the hype and the fame, the clout that comes from hanging around Jon Jones. It’s just sad. He can do so much better. There’s so much more for him to prove and do, and he just doesn’t realize that the biggest thing holding him back is his cornerman, Jon Jones.” Of course, Jones didn’t take long to respond. Shortly after Covington’s interview, “Bones” fired back at “Chaos” on his social media. “Colby, I think your deep hatred is directed at the wrong Black guy. It was [Kamaru] Usman who broke your face, not me. “It’s funny that you blame Gable’s loss on my “negative energy.” Meanwhile, I’m an undefeated fighter living the absolute American dream. Before he was caught, our guy had finished every opponent in the first round. Your logic doesn’t make any sense. “I also find it funny that you, of all people, are commenting on my supposedly negative energy. I travel the world alone and get mobbed by fans, while you need full-time security in your own country. “You come out once a quarter to do an interview about me and what a terrible person I am. Boy, you’re obsessed with me. A blind man could see that. “We started off in the same dorm room, yet I’ve earned and achieved literally ten times more than you have. “I genuinely hope that one day you start to feel better. It sucks to even have to address you. … again.