Video Shows Jon Jones Almost KO’d Olympic Champ in Training by Accident

Jon Jones almost knocked out his world-famous training partner, the Olympic champion Gable Stevenson, by accident during a recent session. Having reigned supreme at light heavyweight for the bulk of his MMA career, the two-weight UFC champion has fought once at heavyweight, won the title against Ciryl Gane in lightning-quick fashion, and continues to acclimate to the weight in sessions like this ahead of his November 16 fight against Stipe Miocic atop the UFC 309 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Stevenson won the Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Games, but he has also competed as a pro wrestler in WWE, and as a defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills. He had been linked with a possible MMA career but UFC boss Dana White was more interested in signing him to Dana White’s Contender Series first, rather than handing him an outright shot to fight within the market-leading MMA firm.

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Jones Almost KO’d Steveson in Training

It looked like the move would have been accidental

Jones and Steveson were sparring at the Jackson Wink MMA gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently as the former heavyweight wrestler is helping the UFC legend prepare for his upcoming fight — against Miocic. Both guys exhibited interested moves, with Steveson appearing to hold his own, except for when Jones almost knocked him down, if not out, with a knee strike to the face.

Watch it right here:

Jones posted broader footage of their practise session together to his 8.7 million followers on Instagram.

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Steveson Would be a Blue-Chip Prospect if he Competed in MMA

The 24-year-old has been rumored to fight before

The training sessions left a significant impact on Jones, who said on Instagram that he was “training with the best,” in reference to Steveson. In a separate post, he called Steveson:

Steveson is a well-rounded athlete because of his experiences in both pro wrestling, Olympic wrestling, and football. It’s in wrestling in particular where he is most accomplished having won a wealth of gold medals at Olympic championships, junior world championships, and NCAA Division I Championships.

If he ever were to transition into MMA, like Jones appears to imply, Steveson would not only be one of the biggest MMA prospects in the modern era, but also, likely, one of the more talented wrestlers to possibly enter the UFC roster.