Josh Hokit says Gable Steveson is ‘not practicing properly’ under Jon Jones: 'What are we doing?'

Gable Steveson’s second UFC appearance was an unmitigated disaster, and the UFC’s next heavyweight title challenger, Josh Hokit, believes he knows why.

Just two weeks ago, Sean Sharaf needed 12 seconds to pull off the biggest betting upset in UFC history, knocking out Steveson at UFC 331. The Olympic gold medalist wrestler entered the sport and promotion with much fanfare, widely viewed as the future of the heavyweight division. He now finds himself 1-1 in the UFC early into his tenure.

Hokit, who trains in similar circles as Steveson in Albuquerque, provided some insight on Monday’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” into why he believes Steveson floundered.

“He must have watched my fights and thought, ‘This s‘s going to be easy.’ This s ain’t sweet. It’s a whole different game,” Hokit told Uncrowned. “He wants to talk about my wrestling and all that other s***. This ain’t wrestling. He had to learn the hard way.

“I heard he’s not practicing properly, and that’s due to Jon Jones. I’ve heard he’s not even sparring and s***. Like, what are we doing, gang? This is a whole different sport. You’ve gotta start from ground zero.

“It’s hard for people like that, that had that success, to start from the building blocks again. He had to learn the hard way. We’ll see what he’s made out of. Adversity is here. This is where we see if he’s truly about it and wants to be good in this game.”

Hokit, 28, has fast-tracked himself to the top of the heavyweight division with four wins in less than a year since he joined the UFC through Contender Series in 2025. Over that time, Hokit has made enemies with ease, thanks to his outspoken promos and crass trash talk. At UFC 334 on Nov. 14, he’ll have the opportunity to become a UFC champion when he faces current titleholder Ciryl Gane in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

For Steveson, it wasn’t just the loss. The Olympian also drew criticism in the immediate aftermath of his performance for leaving the cage before the official decision was read. Hokit pointed to that moment as another sign of a potential issue for Steveson, after what was already a rough fight week. Before the fight, Sharaf repeatedly called out Steveson’s checkered past by mentioning sexual assault allegations from June 2019.

Along with the post-fight walkout, Hokit viewed Steveson’s handling of all that transpired during UFC 331 fight week as questionable, to say the least. Hokit believes Steveson has tried too hard to emulate his coach and mentor, the aforementioned all-time great Jones.

“Even him walking out the cage, he’s smiling and talking to people. If I lose and if I happen to walk outside the cage, it’s like, ‘F*** everybody.’ That’s just how I feel as a competitor. He’s over there smiling and still trying to uphold this fake image,” Hokit said.

“Jon Jones is good at what Jon Jones is good at. He has that charisma about him. He’s from a father that’s a pastor, so that’s in his genes. He has that natural charisma in his blood, so if he’s telling Gable to go that same route and Gable doesn’t have that same charisma, then who are you lying to now?

“It’s like that case that was brought up from [Steveson’s] college days. You’re not prepared to answer? What are we doing? Someone should have told him, ‘You need to be prepared to answer this question,’ or play into it. … That was the first time you thought about it? You didn’t think that was going to get brought up?”

Jones’ presence still lingers in the background of the UFC heavyweight division with his constant teases of wanting to fight again. At present, Jones is retired, and Hokit expects it to stay that way, though he’s open to any potential fight after his upcoming Gane bout.

“He’s not in this gym. He’s not at this camp,” Hokit said. “I’ll fight whoever. I don’t discriminate. Whoever wants it could get it.

“I’m going to be that type of champion, too. Right now I’m focused on the title. I’m not focused on anybody else. After, anybody can get it. They call my name out, they speak my name in vain, I’m stomping them where they stand.”