Former MMA referee and current Bellator commentator John McCarthy can admit one good thing about UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“In every way possible he’s incredible,” McCarthy said Monday on his “Weighing In” podcast. “Because in the cage you’ve gotta admit, he’s an incredible fighter.”
There is, however, the other side of Jones, whom McCarthy said would’ve been a good fit for the military. Because, as McCarthy put it, when Jones “doesn’t have structure, he is a disaster. His is an unmitigated, straight-out f***up.”
That was McCarthy not holding back when speaking about Jones’ latest run-in with the law. Last week, Jones was arrested in downtown Albuquerque, N.M., on charges of aggravated DUI and negligent use of a firearm, among other things, after police responded to the sound of a gun shot and found Jones in the driver’s side of his parked car, according to the responding officers.
It’s the latest in a years-long string of legal trouble for Jones, which includes a previous DWI and hit-and-run that injured a pregnant woman.
Police bodycam video shows Jones trying to explain himself to an officer during a series of sobriety tests before he’s escorted to a police cruiser in handcuffs. In the troubling footage, Jones can be heard breaking down into tears after pleas to take off his hoodie because of anxiety.
McCarthy, who thinks the UFC will strip Jones of his title, dug deep with his criticism after viewing the tape.
“Who you are is what you do when people don’t know, when they don’t see,” McCarthy said. “That’s who you really are. And that’s Jon’s problem. What we’re seeing on that video tape, that’s who Jon really is.”
He continued, “Everything you’re doing is just … Jon, you’re making not only yourself look bad – and this looks bad – you’re making the sport look bad now. Because when people trying to put down MMA wanna go in any direction, guess what direction they’re gonna go in? ‘Well, hey, this is a guy that you people say is one of the greatest fighters, if not the greatest fighter, and look at him. What does he do?’
“It is absolutely incomprehensible that this man cannot control his actions. When he’s being arrested, ‘I just want to be with my kids.’ No, you had the chance to be with your kids. You decided to go out and drink and drive and shoot guns, and you decided to take that ability away. You decided that. No one made you.”
Jones is due in court April 8.
John McCarthy sounds off on 'straight-out f***up' Jon Jones after latest arrest