Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
See how the light heavyweight G.O.A.T. contender spent his Fourth of July helping the community of Albuquerque and maybe saving someone’s life.
Whatever you ended up doing on the Fourth of July yesterday, we hope it was fun and safe and full of screaming freedom eagles and/or fireworks.
The best celebrations we witnessed in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world had to be of Jorge Masvidal getting the call to replace Gilbert Burns against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 during a First Round Management barbecue. Somewhere down the list, I suppose we should include Jon Jones. No, he didn’t also get a reconciliation call from UFC. But he did continue to roam the streets of Albuquerque, N.M., with a band of do-gooders looking to do good.
And boy did they good it up.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 5, 2020
Together we stand, hope you guys enjoy your Fourth of July pic.twitter.com/xnhYbSlo1c
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 5, 2020
We found this man laying in the middle of a field today, he was suffering from severe dehydration. The group honestly believe we saved that man’s life. It felt amazing, those men and women were heroes out there today https://t.co/2DcPZ95J9n
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 5, 2020
Yes we dragged him underneath a tree and forced him to drink about four water bottles. Even got him to bite a hotdog before we left ??? https://t.co/ABQiG7mURU
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 5, 2020
Definitely not trying to paint myself as some hero, I was more proud for my group members to be honest. Some of the younger kids got to learn some valuable lessons today https://t.co/pJv3jRAuTv
— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 5, 2020
Jones has been on a community service tear lately, which we’re sure has nothing to do with the 48 hours of community service he was sentenced to back in March over his latest DWI incident (details). Over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen him cleaning up vandalized buildings around town and getting involved with the Black Lives Matter protests in an attempt to stop property damage and looting.
On Monday, Jon Jones and his C.A.R.E group helped clean up a local Sante Fe, N.M. restaurant after it was destroyed and vandalized by a white supremacist group. ( & @thefoxidentity) pic.twitter.com/r7uJ9dUhVf
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 30, 2020
It hasn’t all been positive photo ops, though. One photo of Jon and a group of assault weapon-carrying dudes talking to the police resulted in an internal investigation.
This interaction came to our attention today. This was not a Department-sanctioned contact, and we are investigating the incident.
— Albuquerque Police Department (@ABQPOLICE) June 3, 2020
APD opposes vigilante actions and attempts by civilians to intervene in planned, peaceful protests. We also discourage the presence of armed civilians at protests, which has the potential to escalate violence, not prevent it.
— Albuquerque Police Department (@ABQPOLICE) June 3, 2020
Things got even hairier for the well-meaning Jones when one of the men photographed in his group later punched a woman and shot a protester during one of the many attempts to pull down statues we’ve been seeing recently.
Fortunately, the Fourth of July went much smoother. No shots fired! One drunk, but it wasn’t Jon! Just a bunch of local residents from C.A.R.E caring about their fellow residents, feeding the less fortunate, including some guy passed out in the sun. Happy Fourth of July, Maniacs. May your hearts be less cynical than mine.