Daniel Cormier may not get cheers from Jones in the cage, but he has been pretty vocal about his defence of Jones.
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was recently charged with two counts of misdemeanour following an incident with drug-testing agents. The agents arrived at Jones’s home to conduct random testing on him and requested a urine sample, but unfortunately, the fighter wasn’t able to provide it. He was later asked for a blood sample, at which point he became aggressive towards the agents and allegedly threatened to kill them. One of them [Crystal Martinez] reported feeling threatened by his behaviour, and the testers decided to press charges.
Although Jones has vehemently denied these allegations, he was still given assault charges. The fighter agreed to using profanities while addressing the tester, but he insists he never threatened them or used violence.
Many people have raised eyebrows at these new allegations following Jones’s history, but it seems his long-time rival, Daniel Cormier, is on his side. Despite receiving death threats from Jones throughout their longstanding rivalry, Cormier believes the charges are unfounded.
“If I’m being honest though, the whole time, I kind of thought the deal was B.S.”, Cormier said about Jones on his YouTube channel. “I feel like he was approached very early. Or if I recall correctly, it was either early in the morning or late in the evening, where he could have been home having some drinks.
“I know we all rush to judge Jones because of his past issues, but the reality is if a man is at his house and he’s having some drinks in the confines of his own home, so what? It’s his right to do that. If the drug testers come and he might be a little bit tipsy or messed up. Maybe the interactions aren’t as fun or as easy as they may have been on other occasions. I kind of always thought it was B.S. I don’t think much is going to come of it.”
Jones stated that the testers came to his home after he had just celebrated his birthday party and was taking a nap. He said they picked the wrongest time to come, seeing as he was intoxicated and still groggy. This incident will not be Jones’s first run-in with the law, as he has been in the spotlight numerous times for various arrests. Cortmier believes this may be the reason he’s seen as an easy target.
“Because he is who he is, it’s always a story,” Cormier said. “Regardless of what happens to this guy. Honestly, that’s kind of living in the spotlight. But I think because of everything he’s done in the past, the light shines a little brighter on him. I don’t really think that this is that big of a deal. It was always going to be a misdemeanour, but some of the things that have happened in the past were much more serious.
“If you are a Jones hater and you are hoping that something comes of this, I don’t think it will. I think this man was bombarded a little bit and I think a misdemeanour is only the court’s way of taking some action because something has to be done whenever you do something wrong.”
“I’m not the judge, I’m not the jury, so it doesn’t really matter,” Cormier said. “I’m just a guy that doesn’t like a guy that is actually standing up for that guy because I know it’s bullshit. It is what it is.”
There is a high chance Jones will never get to see the inside of a prison cell but if convicted, he will likely spend less than a year in jail. His lawyers will most likely appeal for a lower plea sentence and pay the $1500 fine.
