Jon Jones could not believe his eyes on Saturday night as he watched Gable Steveson get knocked out cold by Sean Sharaf.
Sharaf (5-2-0) clocked Steveson (4-1-0) with a vicious left hook just seconds into their heavyweight bout at UFC 331. Jones, both a friend and coach to Steveson, was sitting by his corner at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif.
Steveson evaded Sharaf’s right-handed punch to open the match, leaving him susceptible to a follow-up haymaker from the opposite side. The blow caught Steveson so squarely that the referee stopped the fight immediately before Sharaf could inflict any more damage.
— Italo's Media (@BulletCluIta) September 20, 2026
Jones watched in utter disbelief as his mentee ate canvas so quickly into the fight, which lasted all of 12 seconds. He had a look of astonishment on his face as chaos ensued around him in the arena.
JON JONES REACTION TO GABLE STEVENSON BEING GETTING KNOCKED OUT COLD#UFC331 pic.twitter.com/d0G1Ewijai
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) September 20, 2026
The loss was Steveson’s first as an MMA fighter.
Both Steveson and Jones previously predicted that the Olympic gold medalist would be battling for the heavyweight championship in the near future. The loss to Sharaf may have derailed that path, at least for the time being.
