Daniel Cormier may never lead Jon Jones’ cheering section, but even he is backing his longtime rival when it comes to the pair of misdemeanor charges Jones faces regarding an alleged altercation with drug-testing agents in March.
The whole ordeal started after representatives from Drug Free Sport — the UFC’s anti-doping partner — visited Jones’ house on March 30. One of the agents subsequently filed a police report claiming that the UFC heavyweight champion was aggressive toward her and her co-worker, and that she felt “terrified” during the encounter and “was afraid Jones might hit her.”
Jones vehemently denied the account but was eventually handed an assault charge, which is a petty misdemeanor, as well as a second misdemeanor charge for interference with communications after he allegedly grabbed the drug tester’s phone during the encounter. On Wednesday, Jones plead not guilty to both charges.
“If I’m being completely 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 in other occasions. I kind of always thought it was B.S. I don’t think much is going to come of it.”
Based on the police report, the drug tester identified as Crystal Martinez told authorities that she showed up at Jones’ home around 4 p.m. local time and “smelled an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from him.”
Jones later said in his own statement that the drug testers visited him during a birthday party and after he was taking a nap. He denied threatening the drug-testing agents and noted that he planned to “vigorously defend” himself against the allegations.
Even if he was convicted on both charges, Jones would face less than one total year in jail and a maximum fine up to $1,500, but it’s highly unlikely either actually happens.
While Jones did plead not guilty in court, his attorneys will almost certainly cut some sort of plea deal with prosecutors that may end in some sort of punishment, but there’s almost no chance Jones ever sees the inside of a jail cell over misdemeanor charges.
That being said, Cormier understands why so much attention gets paid to Jones, especially with his past of being arrested numerous times throughout his UFC career.
“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 misdemeanor, but some of the things that has 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 misdemeanor is only the court’s way of taking some action, because something has to be done whenever you do something wrong.”
Even if their shared past is rocky at best, Cormier doesn’t expect much to come from the court case. He’s actually backing Jones, viewing the situation as much ado about nothing.
“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.”
