Daniel Cormier urges Jon Jones ‘get your sh*t together’ after domestic violence arrest, denial
Even though Daniel Cormier will never be friends with bitter rival Jon Jones, the former UFC two-division champion is concerned about him and his family following his most recent run-in with the law.
Jones, 34, was arrested Sept. 24 on charges of misdemeanor domestic violence and felony injuring and/or tampering with a vehicle after an alleged physical altercation with his fiancee, Jessie Moses, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The incident, which left Moses bloodied, occurred with their three daughters present, according to the police report.
Jones, who isn’t due in Las Vegas court until Oct. 26, hasn’t been disciplined by the UFC. His longtime coach, Mike Winkeljohn, took action, however, by banning the former light heavyweight champ from stepping foot inside Jackson Wink MMA – at least until he shows that he’s gotten his act together.
It’s a decision that was praised by Cormier and makes him wonder just how bad the situation has gotten with Jones.
“The one thing, at this point, is that Jones will never get is the benefit of the doubt, because we’ve done that before,” Cormier said in a video posted Thursday on his YouTube channel. “Coach Winkeljohn’s decision shows what type of man he is, willing to step away from the money in order to stand on the grounds of what he believes. The next thing for me, though, is how serious must it be for a guy that’s walked out in front of thousands and thousands of people with you after the indiscretions, to finally have enough and walk away. …
“The level you have to go to in order to make these people say, ‘I’ve got to take a step back,’ is really severe. You would think, that for a young man like this, that would be a wake-up call. Those are your allies, your greatest allies. Even your greatest allies start to turn their back.”
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To be clear, while Jones isn’t allowed inside Jackson Wink, a gym publicist said that coaches Greg Jackson and Brandon Gibson will continue working with him offsite.
As Cormier looks at the bigger picture regarding Jones, it especially worries him how Jones’ transgressions are affecting his kids in light of this latest alleged incident of domestic abuse.
“It makes me sad that his daughter said (to) call the police. That’s the thing that saddens you,” Cormier said. “All those little things you’ve got to think that it doesn’t matter who you are, what type of person you are, those things have to really make you look within yourself and make a decision. Because no one’s perfect, but at a point you’ve got to make a decision for not only you – for your daughters, for your fiancee, for your family, for everything. I think right now is that time.”
“But the scariest part about this is in these moments, when people who have issues start to lose their closest allies, they can go one of two ways: One way, they can go to the top and get their sh*t together, or they can actually just plummet. So I think it’s very important for the people that are closest to Jones to help him decide and figure how he’s gonna go forward. This is that slippery slope.”
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So far, Jones has yet to publicly apologize are take accountability for what transpired with his wife Sept. 24. On Wednesday, 19 days after the alleged incident, Jones denied hitting his fiancee while continuing to portray himself as a victim.
The series of tweets – some deleted – baffled Cormier.
“From me to this guy, we’ll never be friends. But human to human, you’ve got to get your sh*t right. And show some remorse,” Cormier said. “Before you hit that send button on those tweets, you’ve got to think about what you’re saying. It seems as though you tell yourself so many lies that you start to believe them. Don’t lie to yourself. Surround yourself with people that are gonna tell you the truth and then find some answers, otherwise it’s gonna be done. Because it’s actually close to being done.”
