Several members of the MMA community have been highly critical of male-to-female transgender fighter Fallon Fox, but Jon Jones isn’t one of them.
During his UFC 159 media rounds, “Bones” spoke with MMA Junkie about Fox, who was verbally slammed in a tirade from UFC heavyweight and former NFL player Matt Mitrione during a segment on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting).
Although the UFC initially suspended Mitrione, the Blackzilian member was nonetheless quickly scheduled for a bout at UFC on Fox 8 (via ESPN).
But as Jones himself puts it, he still views someone like Mitrione as just another “ridiculous scumbag” while Fox is a “strong” role model that has earned his respect:
“I think he’s terrible for that,” Jones said. “It’s ridiculous. I think Fallon Fox, that’s a strong person. Despite what the person has been through in their life, that’s a strong person. I’m a fan of that person because of what they’ve gone through and what they’re willing to go through.
“People like Matt Mitrione are scumbags. He’s a scumbag. I don’t care if he’s off suspension or doesn’t fight again. He’s a ridiculous person.”
Jones said he believes in freedom of speech but that being a “decent” person should trump all.
“He needs to shut his mouth,” Jones said. “That’s how I feel about that kid. He’s scum.”
Jones also echoed a similar statement about Fox during a fan chat session on ESPN, saying that he “respects her strength” in the face of her public scrutiny.
However, Fox hasn’t looked very good to the MMA community recently, reportedly threatening Australian star Bec Hyatt and several other female fighters at Invicta FC 5.
(Note: Fox currently fights at 145 pounds, while Hyatt competes in the 115-pound strawweight division.)
Jones’ opinions on Mitrione aside, the heavyweight prospect is getting a record turnaround for his MMA career, having previously stopped Phil De Fries in a 19-second KO victory at UFC on Fuel 9 in Sweden less than a month ago on April 8.
Meanwhile, Jones has his own match to worry about on Saturday.
Seeking to tie the record for consecutive defenses of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Jones will face former middleweight Chael Sonnen in the main event of UFC 159 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.
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