Jon Jones was arrested early Thursday morning after being pulled over in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The reason for arrest is being reported as a DWI and negligent use of a firearm.
Unfortunately, fans have come to expect this sort of news surrounding the troubled champion, Jones pled guilty to another DWI charge back in 2012, there was the infamous incident in 2015 of Jones being charged with a hit-and-run after running a red light and crashing into two vehicles. This action left a pregnant woman injured with a broken arm and led to Jones being stripped of the light-heavyweight championship.
In addition, in July of last year, Jones was charged with battery against a waitress in a strip club.
This latest arrest stands out for different reasons however, the usually volatile personality of the Rochester, New York fighter is instead replaced with a more solemn, distressed tone. In the police bodycam footage that later surfaced, when Jones was questioned why he was even driving at all as New Mexico is currently in the midst of a stay-at-home order, Jones responded that he was getting ‘stir crazy’ stuck at home and needed a drive, he also said he was talking with homeless people that he came across, in his own words, ‘being nice and treating them like humans’.
After being handcuffed, Jones pleaded with officers to let him remove his hoodie, stating that his ‘anxiety gets so bad’, and while being led to the police cruiser, Jones’ voice noticeably cracks as he again asks if he can remove his hoodie, when finally given permission to and asked if he wants to remove it himself, ‘JBJ’ quietly responded, ‘I just want you guys to feel comfortable’ before repeatedly thanking the officers.
The footage ends with the man known inside the octagon as ‘Bones’ sat inside the cruiser, and in a strained voice, he asks, ‘Sir, if it’s not too much, could you roll down the window?’.
Watching the bodycam footage, it’s difficult to not feel sorry for Jon Jones, despite his past indiscretions and controversies both inside and out of the cage.
With his past DWI charges, one can also recall Jones infamously only spending one night in rehab after testing positive for cocaine following a victory over bitter rival Daniel Cormier. That was five years ago but alcohol and drug problems have seemed to follow Jones since that incident, whether for recreational use or for performance-enhancement.
Jones also notably won the subsequent second fight against Cormier, but the decision was overturned to a no-contest after he once again failed a drug test.
Following this most-recent arrest, there has been some speculation on whether or not Jones will be stripped of the light-heavyweight championship again, this would be the fourth time for ‘JBJ’. However, the focus of fans and UFC executives should instead be put on Jon Jones, the man, rather than worrying about the future of Jon Jones, the fighter.
While few can claim to know Jones’ levels of sobriety personally, it is clear to see that Jones is not living a healthy lifestyle and if left to continue, it could lead to more innocent people getting hurt, akin to the incident in 2015, let alone endangering the man himself.
Whether Jones remains the UFC light-heavyweight champion following this arrest or not, I’d like to believe that even his detractors are hoping that he can come out of this situation as a better man, not only for himself, but for his family.
The Inbound Observer 