Daniel Cormier has shared one of the most bitter rivalries in MMA history with Jon Jones but even he was sad to see the light-heavyweight champion get arrested last week.
The 205lb great was picked up on charges of driving while intoxicated and negligent use of a firearm in the early hours of Thursday morning. Later that day bodycam footage from the arresting officers was released to the general public adding to Jones’ embarrassment.
Since then a whole host of fighters have chimed in on the arrest. Cormier though has stayed quiet, until now. The former dual weight UFC champion offered his thoughts on the arrest while speaking with Ariel Helwani earlier today, he said.
“Jon
Jones has this ability, he gets himself into trouble, but every time, there’s
always something that comes along and runs it out of the news. He’s been lucky that when he’s going through stuff, there’s
something else that overtakes it.
“I saw this video from a sit-down we did with Joe Rogan a
while back. And I was talking about how it would be difficult for him to change
if nothing around him changed.
“And the poor guy who has these issues… that dead time is your
worst enemy. Because all these vices start to pull at you when you’re sitting
at home doing nothing, especially if you don’t do that a lot.
“Seeing him get into trouble again, a lot of people in my
circle almost celebratory, but that’s not me. I didn’t celebrate the kid
getting in trouble again, you shouldn’t dance on someone’s grave in their
darkest moments. Because ultimately, are you a human being, or does this
competition take over everything – and I didn’t find any job in seeing that man
in that situation again. It’s just bad, he’s got daughters and a wife or
fiancé, he’s got so many things at home that are affected by his actions.
“It won’t change until something or the people around him change. As much as I dislike him, I hate him in a lot of ways, but I hate seeing a young black athlete in that situation more than my disdain for him. I couldn’t watch the video all the way through because he’s messed up. That guy has always been messed up, he’s always done things that get him in trouble.” (Transcribed by Express)
What do you make of Daniel Cormier’s reaction to Jon Jones’ latest arrest?