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Josh Hokit is the latest name to pin the blame on Jon Jones for Gable Steveson’s first pro MMA defeat.

Steveson entered the MMA space with significant buzz given his freestyle wrestling accolades and athleticism. The Olympic gold medalist got off to a fast start in the fight game under Jones’ tutelage, amassing a 4-0 record which included a successful UFC debut against Elisha Ellison back in July.

Things came crashing down for Steveson during fight week ahead of UFC 331. His opponent, Sean Sharaf, brought up Steveson’s past sexual assault accusations, and the former Olympian’s response drew the ire of fans and experts. Ultimately, Steveson’s rough week was capped off with a 12-secound knockout loss to Sharaf.

During his appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Hokit said he believes Jones hasn’t exactly been the mentor that Steveson needs early in his fighting career.

“He must’ve watched my fights and been like, ‘Well damn, this sh*t’s gonna be easy.’ This sh*t ain’t sweet. This is a whole different game. He wants to talk about wrestling and all that other sh*t. This ain’t wrestling. So, he had to learn that the hard way. I heard he’s not practicing properly, and that’s due to Jon Jones. I heard he’s not even sparring and sh*t. It’s like, what are we doing, gang? This is a whole different sport. You’ve got to start from ground zero, and it’s hard for people like that that had that success to start from the building blocks again.”

Hokit also noted that Steveson will now have to get past the mental hurdle of being stopped as quickly as he was, as well as having his ego checked. How Steveson will respond to the loss in his next outing is something to keep an eye on in the coming months.

As for Hokit, he is set for the biggest fight of his pro MMA career. He is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight gold in the UFC 334 main event on Nov. 14. The title fight will be held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.

How do you think Gable Steveson will bounce back from his first pro MMA loss? Drop a comment below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM