Dana White: ‘It’s not even shocking anymore’ when Jon Jones gets arrested

UFC president Dana White isn’t the least bit surprised by Jon Jones’ latest arrest, almost sounding like he saw it coming.

“It’s hard to bring this guy to Las Vegas for any reason,” White told reporters on Friday after the UFC 266 ceremonial weigh-ins. “This city is not good for Jon Jones. And here we are again.”

Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, arrived in “Sin City” this week to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame fight wing for his 2013 classic with Alexander Gustafsson. The ceremony took place Thursday with Jones in attendance. By early Friday morning, just hours after being honored by the UFC, Las Vegas police arrested Jones and charged him with misdemeanor battery domestic violence and felony injuring and tampering with a vehicle.

Details of Jones’ arrest remain scarce, other than he was booked into Clark County Detention Center at 5:45 a.m. local time. Even without more information, White was clear on where he stood on the situation.

“It’s like it’s not even shocking anymore,” White said. “When we bring him here, it’s almost expected. Can’t even get him into Las Vegas for less than 12 hours to induct him into the Hall of Fame. It’s a problem. This guy’s got a lot of demons, man – a lot of demons.”

He continued, “Is it really shocking anymore? It’s really not. It’s become not shocking. It’s almost become, ‘Uh oh, he’s in Vegas again. What’s going to happen today?’ You want to hope the guy is better, and that won’t be the case, but he proves every time he comes to this town that he can’t handle this place.”

Jones, 34, has a lengthy history of legal troubles, which includes a 2012 DWI charge, a 2015 hit-and-run that left a pregnant woman injured, and a 2019 battery charge for allegedly violating a waitress at a strip club. His most recent arrest prior to Friday stemmed from an incident in which an intoxicated Jones shot a firearm in public.

Jones said on the UFC Hall of Fame red carpet that he expected to make his long-awaited heavyweight debut in the second quarter of 2022 after voicing optimism about his relationship with White and getting a new contract from the UFC.

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