Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones is no stranger to brushes with the law outside of the cage. His legacy includes GOAT-level accomplishments inside the octagon and a list of transgressions outside of it.
On Sunday, June 21, Atlanta police were called to a disturbance at the airport involving former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. “The Diamond” was taken into custody after being aggressive with airport staff. Video of the incident later emerged revealing a drunken Poirier threatened police officers. In an interview with Red Corner MMA, Jones came to Poirier’s defense.
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“I hope that Dustin keeps his head high, gets back on his horse, and realizes that at the end of the day, news is news,” Jones said. “Some people say there’s no such thing as bad press. I disagree with that, but press is press. The whole world is talking about him right now.
“He didn’t hurt anybody. He was drunk, we’ve all been drunk. Alcohol makes you do silly things.”
Poirier retired from fighting following a loss to Max Holloway at UFC 318 in July 2025. Poirier has admitted that walking away from competition hasn’t been an easy transition. Jones praised Poirier for his honesty.
“I do respect the fact that he’s being honest about his mental state. I swear in some weird way retiring from the UFC almost feels like retiring from the military or something. There’s so many similarities. I have conversations with my special forces buddies about this type of stuff all the time, it’s a huge change or at least it can be,” Jones wrote on X.
