UFC star Jon Jones forced to apologise after controversial video of him shooting a wild boar dead sparks outrage
UFC star Jon Jones has been slammed after posting a video of him shooting a boar on a hunting trip.
The former light-heavyweight champ is currently taking a break from the octagon as he attempts to put on the beef for a step up to heavyweight later this year.
But before he targets the division’s top boy Stipe Miocic, the American took aim at another beast.
‘Bones’ is well-known for his love of hunting and firearms, and he could not resist sharing his latest kill with his 5.4 million social media followers.
In the clip he is seen in a helicopter pursuing a boar, and shows him pulling the trigger and immediately stopping the animal before firing several more shots towards it as it lay on the ground.
The video was captioned on Instagram with: “One shot, one kill, lots of bacon.
“Was an honor hunting with medal of honor recipient Patrick Payne.”
It did not go down well with his legion of fans, with many slamming him.
One declared: “You can’t post this.”
Another said: “Shooting an animal from a helicopter is weak. That’s not hunting.”
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While another commented: “That’s not hunting, that’s pay to win.”
Jones responded with: “I apologize if this video makes some of you guys uncomfortable, at the same time I’m excited for my shipment of meat to get to Albuquerque.
“I took my time with that first shot to make sure the animal did not suffer.
“Bet half you guys that are offended eats sausages and bacon on a daily basis.”
It is not the first time Jones, 33, has caused controversy after his drug test failures and an arrest for a hit and run incident in 2015.
The fighter gave up his championship last year following a hotly-disputed close decision win over Dominick Reyes in order to pursue a world title in a second weight category.
He recently revealed on social media he now weighs around 250lbs with speculation mounting he could face the winner of the potential March bout between Miocic and Cameroonian Francis Ngannou.