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Jon Jones and Corey Anderson have a bit of a history, as the two talented Light Heavyweight combatants have not only exchanged verbal insults toward one another on social media, but almost got into a physical altercation during a meet-and-greet.
And after UFC 232 was forced to move from Las Vegas, Nevada to Inglewood, California as a result of Jones testing positive for a steroid metabolite, Anderson — who went on to defeat Ilir Latifi on the card — only built up more animosity toward “Bones.” In fact, Anderson told TMZ Sports he was tired of Jon’s “fake bible bullshit,” slamming the 205-pound champion for not practicing what he preaches; proclaiming his faith in God all while “doing drugs,” popping for steroids and committing hit-and-runs.
Now, “Overtime” is doing a complete 180, as he recently took to social media to apologize to Jones for his past remarks toward him, saying being under quarantine has helped him realize that he was stepping out of his religious character by bashing a fellow Christian.
“Can’t take back my wrongs but I can start by apologizing for my actions. Ever since the UFC 232 incident, I allowed myself to come out of my character as a believer. And I blame myself for allowing it to happen. So I’d like to make a public apology to Jon Jones for all my previous social media posts and interviews about his religious beliefs and being a Christian,” Anderson said via Instagram.
“In this time away from the world, I’ve been able to dig deep into my Bible, pray and ask questions about living my life more and more as a Child of God. And one of the the things I’ve learned is that, as a believer myself, I should have directed my issues pertaining (to) his beliefs DIRECTLY to him and not into the media. As a man, I can admit when I am wrong, and I was/am wrong.
“As a fighter and a competitor, it’s easy to let the way of the world influence you to do the things the world wants you to do. But as a believer, I AM supposed to live the way the LORD wants me to and walk the way that will shed light on him and his word.”
The two men were on a path to face off inside the Octagon, but after Jan Blachowicz knocked out Anderson at UFC Rio Rancho earlier this year (see it again here), his championship dreams went up in smoke.
Jones has yet to respond to Corey’s apology … at least publicly.