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Jon Anik talks about Jon Jones’ latest arrest.
Jon Anik recently spoke about Jon Jones’ latest arrest, and according to the UFC commentator it was just “sad” to see one of the UFC’s biggest stars in trouble again. He’s known and been around Jones for almost a decade, and can’t help but feel for his family as a fellow “girl dad.”
“It’s just sad – it’s sad, right?” Anik told MMA Fighting. “It’s embarrassing for his daughters I think mostly, they’re not getting any younger, and as they get older and as he looks like he’s turning over a new leaf or starting to turn the page and become an active champion for the UFC as he was doing late-2018 into 2019, it looked like maybe he was gonna be able to toe that straight-and-narrow, and obviously that was not the case. I think, for me, sad was just the emotion because I really do like the guy.
“If you’re only judging him based upon personal interaction, he’s basically been consistent and genuine with me since I met him in his hotel room in 2011, the day he foiled a robbery before beating Shogun to win the belt. That was the first time I met the guy, we’ve always had a good relationship. I think for me, I’m a girl dad, I see a father of daughters, it makes me very sad. It was hard to watch that officer cam footage, it really was. I just hope that he can somehow find it within him to turn the sadness and the anger into something positive.”
Despite multiple run-ins with the law, and troubles outside of the Octagon, Anik still hopes this latest incident becomes a catalyst for true change for Jones.
“I’m hopeful for Jon Jones, but he’s gonna have to put in the effort if he really wants to affect change,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to bottom out to really change something, and I think he bottomed out a few days ago.”
Despite his second DWI, Jones managed to avoid jail time after quickly agreeing to a plea deal. The UFC champion has released a statement following this, admitting to an “unhealthy relationship” with alcohol.