Jon
Jones is standing by his protégé, Gable
Steveson.

Steveson took on Sean Sharaf
in his second
Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance at UFC
331 in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. Jones watched from Steveson's
corner as the latter was knocked out by Sharaf in 12 seconds in a
massive upset. Steveson later faced backlash for exiting the
Octagon, escorted by Jones, before Sharaf got his hand raised.

Jon Jones says he made the call to leave after Gable Steveson's
12-second knockout loss

Jones recently took the blame for Steveson's premature departure
from the Octagon. “Bones†claims it was the first time that he had
faced such a situation and instinctively wanted to take his friend
backstage to check on him.

“I've seen some reports online and I really wanted to clear the
air,†Jones posted on X. “It was my decision to take Gable straight
to the back after the fight. Honestly, it was the first time in
this situation for me and my instant reaction was to get my friend
to the back to make sure he was OK.â€

The former two-division champ is confident that Steveson with
return stronger and eventually emerge as one of the best
heavyweights.

“Gable's work ethic and will to win is there and I stand by him and
believe he will go on to be one of the best heavyweights in the
UFC. He will be back I'm sure of it.â€

I've seen some reports on line and I really
wanted to clear the air. It was my decision to take Gable straight
to the back after the fight. Honestly it was the first time in this
situation for me and my instant reaction was to get my friend to
the back to make sure he was ok.…

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones)
September 21, 2026

The
Professional Fighters League has announced the co-main event
for
PFL Dubai, which takes place on Nov. 14.

A welterweight matchup pits Belgium's undefeated Patrick
Habirora (9-0) against Omar El
Dafrawy (16-6), who previously captured the PFL MENA
welterweight championship.

Patrick Habirora meets Omar El Dafrawy in PFL Dubai co-main
event

Habirora has emerged as one of the PFL's most dangerous prospects.
The 25-year-old welterweight has recorded eight knockout victories
and one decision win in his career so far.

Seven of his finishes have come in the very first round. Most
recently, he stopped former
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Benson
Henderson in just 20 seconds at
PFL Brussels.

El Dafrawy brings considerably more experience into the matchup.
The 31-year-old Egyptian has nine wins by knockout and three by
submission. He's on a two-fight win streak and is 6-1 under the PFL
banner.

The event, slated for the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, will be
headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Vadim
Nemkov and Sergey
Bilostenniy.

ð—šð—¥ð—”ð—• ð—¬ð—¢ð—¨ð—¥ ð—£ð—¢ð—£ð—–ð—¢ð—¥ð—¡ ð—™ð—¢ð—¥ ð—§ð—›ð—œð—¦ ð—¢ð—¡ð—˜ ðŸ¿ðŸ”œ

Undefeated #4 Ranked Patrick Habirora clashes with #5 Ranked Omar
El-Dafrawy in a battle of ranked Welterweights in the Co-Main Event
of PFL Dubai!

It all goes down on Saturday, November 14th LIVE from the
Coca-Cola… pic.twitter.com/3gYaHGHj66

— PFL (@PFLMMA)
September 21, 2026

Superbon will soon know exactly who stands between him and his next World Title defense.

The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion watches the semifinals of the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament unfold at ONE SAMURAI 4, live from Tokyo's Ariake Arena on Saturday, October 17. Armenian legend Marat Grigorian faces China's Luo Chao, who reached the final four by outpointing Kosuke Takagi, while Japan's Masaaki Noiri battles Iranian knockout artist Mohammad Siasarani, who remains unbeaten in ONE kickboxing after finishing Kaito Ono. The eventual tournament winner earns a shot at Superbon's crown.

“I think Marat takes his match. The other semifinal is a tough one to call – it's pure 50-50,†Superbon said. “But if I had to pick, fighting on home turf gives Noiri a slight edge to pull off the win.â€

A Grigorian or Noiri final would carry real stakes for Superbon

Either outcome would carry significant legacy implications for Superbon's own résumé. A Grigorian tournament victory would set up a fourth career meeting between the two longtime rivals, following a rivalry that dates back to a 29-second knockout loss in 2018 before Superbon answered with consecutive decision wins at ONE X and ONE Friday Fights 58. A Noiri triumph would instead give the Japanese star a chance to avenge his own ONE 173 World Title loss this past November.

Superbon has already fought through the drama of picking a side once this tournament, and he knows fans will hold him to it either way.

“Whenever I make a call, people just love to grill me. But if forced to pick, I'm leaning toward Marat and Noiri as the final two.â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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