Matt Brown Questions Jon Jones as Coach After Steveson's 12-Second KO Loss
Former UFC veteran Matt Brown says Jon Jones is not cut out to coach Gable Steveson and rips the post-fight response.
The fallout from Gable Steveson's 12-second knockout loss at UFC 331 continues, and former UFC veteran Matt Brown is not holding back on who he thinks is to blame.
Brown, speaking after Sean Sharaf starched the Olympic gold medalist with a left hook in the first exchange of the fight, questioned whether Jon Jones has any business coaching a fighter through adversity. "Some people aren't necessarily cut out to be coaches," Brown said, per MiddleEasy. He pointed out that Jones has never experienced being "flatlined by one punch" in his career, making it hard for him to guide someone through that kind of loss.
Brown also broke down the technical failure, noting that Steveson "closed his eyes and reached with his jab" when Sharaf pressured him. The former UFC welterweight attributed that to inexperience under fire. "He hasn't experienced getting hit a lot," Brown said.
The criticism did not stop at the fight itself. Brown ripped Steveson's coaching staff for allowing him to leave the Octagon before Sharaf's hand was raised, calling it a failure of corner responsibility. "Coaches should have been the ones saying, 'No, go back in there,'" he said.
Brown also advised Steveson to hire a PR person, saying his public responses to the backlash were "absolutely terrible, worded terribly and spoken terribly."
Despite the harsh assessment, Brown maintained that Steveson still has championship potential if he accepts harder training and expands his coaching circle beyond Jones's camp. The question is whether the Olympic gold medalist is willing to hear it.
Matt Brown is the right guy to say this, because he has been on both ends of a flatline and Jon Jones has not. That is not a knock on Jon as a fighter. It is a fair question about whether the greatest talent of his era can teach a guy how to survive getting hit, when he never really had to learn it himself.
The technical point is the one that matters. Steveson closed his eyes and reached with the jab. That is a guy who has not eaten enough punches in the gym, and the fix is not more strength or more hype. It is sparring with people who want to hurt you.
Brown is also right about the corner. Walking out before Sharaf's hand was raised was a coaching failure first and a Steveson failure second. I still think Gable can be a champion. The gold medal was real. But he needs a room that tells him no, and right now it does not sound like he has one.
