Jon Jones has broken his silence after being arrested for battery
domestic violence and vehicle tampering in Las Vegas last week.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion released a statement on
his Instagram story on Tuesday after a police report revealed
disturbing details regarding an alleged assault against his
fiancee, Jesse Moses.
The post shows Jones lifting weights with the Randy Newman song
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” playing in the background along with
several statements scattered around the video. Jones does not
directly address his arrest.
“I have way too much trauma to consume alcohol,” Jones wrote. “My
brain simply can’t handle it anymore. I will leave alcohol in my
past forever.
“Now is the time to work harder than ever.
“Turn this nightmare into the best thing to ever happen in my
life.
“What the devil means for bad, God means for good.
“Get right back on my horse.”
Police were called to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when Moses
arrived at the security booth at the hotel requesting an extra key
to her room with blood on her face and clothing. When speaking to
officers about the alleged domestic incident that occurred in their
room, Moses appeared to be frightened at the prospect of Jones’
release from jail asking, “How long do I have until he is out?”
Jones was taken into custody on the Las Vegas strip at
approximately 6 a.m. on Friday and become so irate that he smashed
his head on the front of the police vehicle. During a later
interview with authorities, Jones displayed a variety of emotions,
going from angry to crying to talking calmly. Jones was released
from jail on Friday evening on $8,000 bail and is set to return to
court on Oct. 26.
UFC president Dana White briefly addressed the Jones situation
while speaking to media following the Contender Series on Tuesday
night.
“We’ll do what we always do,” White said. “We’re very consistent in
that we watch and see how this thing plays out legally and what
happens. Then we’ll make a decision from there.”
When asked about his personal feelings on the matter, White
reiterated a sentiment he expressed prior to UFC 266, that Las
Vegas was not an ideal spot for Jones to stay out of trouble. Jones
prior arrests have occurred in Albuquerque, N.M., where he lives
and trains and in his home state of New York.
“This is what Jon does when he comes to Vegas. This is a rough
place for him,” White said. “He was here less than 12 hours, and he
was in jail. Every time we bring him here, we try to keep him here
for as short a time as possible. Get him in and get him out. This
time he was with his family. We figured wrong.”
Jones has a long history with troubles outside of the cage. In
2020, he was
taken into custody for a DWI and negligent use of firearms.
Earlier than that, he was
charged with battery at a strip club in July 2019, pleaded
guilty to
drag racing in 2016 and was involved in a
hit-and-run with a pregnant woman in 2015. He also
picked up a DWI in 2012 for crashing into a telephone pole
while in New York.
White wouldn’t make a definitive statement on whether the promotion
was considering cutting ties with Jones following his latest
issues. Instead, the UFC boss made a vague statement regarding the
roster and that there are a multitiude of difficulties that come
with dealing with the athletes who make their money fighting for a
living.
“I got 650 guys. There’s s—t that goes on here everyday,” White
said. “It’s the fight business. Every day we’ve got stuff going on,
stuff that you don’t know about that we deal with on a daily basis.
It’s what we do. We’ll see how this thing plays out legally and we
go from there.”
Jones hasn’t fought since February 2020 and has been involved in a
public dispute with the UFC regarding his pay for an anticipated
move the heavyweight division.