Colby Covington tells Gable Steveson to ditch ‘terrible human being’ Jon Jones; Jones responds

Colby Covington and Jon Jones, former roommates at Iowa Central Community College turned UFC rivals, have reignited their long-running feud—this time over Jones's mentorship of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.

Steveson's UFC debut at UFC 331 ended in stunning fashion when Sean Sharaf knocked him out in just 12 seconds, one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. The loss came after Steveson's pre-fight disrespect toward Sharaf and his hasty exit from the cage before the official announcement, actions that drew criticism from the MMA community.

Covington, speaking with Ariel Helwani, seized on the moment to attack Jones's influence on Steveson. He characterized Jones as a "terrible human being," "piece of shit," and "demon," listing allegations of domestic violence, steroid use, failed drug tests, and cocaine use. Covington argued that Jones's negative energy had poisoned Steveson's mindset and that the young fighter should immediately leave Jones and his Jackson-Wink gym. "Energy is everything," Covington said, suggesting Steveson needed legitimate sparring at a major camp and distance from Jones to recover and rebuild his career.

Jones didn't remain silent for long. On social media, he fired back at Covington, pointing out that it was Kamaru Usman—not Jones—who broke Covington's face, and mocking Covington's logic in blaming Gable's loss on negative energy while Jones remains undefeated. Jones also highlighted the contrast between his global fame and Covington's need for security, and noted that he has "earned and achieved literally ten times" more than Covington since their shared college days. He concluded by expressing that addressing Covington at all was tiresome.

The exchange underscores the persistent animosity between two prominent UFC figures whose rivalry has spanned from their amateur days through their careers at the sport's highest level.