UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones went to Facebook on Monday to thank his fans for their support but said his critics have been “sickening” in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend (you can see photo HERE).
In the post, which has since been deleted from Jones’ Facebook account, the martial artist apologized for his actions and promised to not give in to “hateful people.” Â More after the jump…
Jones, 24, was arrested at 5:02 a.m. ET on Saturday after crashing his Bentley into a utility pole in Binghamton, N.Y. No one in the car was seriously injured.
“It has literally been sickening to have so many people try to kick me while I’m down,” Jones wrote, according to USA Today. “At the same time, I totally understand, I gave them the leeway to. I screwed up, big time.
“Just needed to say thank you to all you guys for being amazing friends/supporters.”
Members of Jones’ management team confirmed to ESPN.com’s Josh Gross earlier Monday that the post was written by Jones.
“I’m truly sorry to those of you that I may have embarrassed in any way, to those of you with kids that I may have let down,” the post continued, according to USA Today. “I will prove to them as well as to myself, that no matter what is happening in life, we can always work our way back and make things even better than before.
“Reading you guys uplifting comments was a great reminder for me to not give up on who I am or all the hateful people. I’m not gonna allow this situation to outweigh the positive.”
A New York native, Jones became the youngest title-holder in UFC history when he defeatedMauricio Rua for the 205-pound belt in March 2011. He has successfully defended the title three times since.
The promotion had been grooming Jones to become the face of the sport and even sponsored him for his last fight against Rashad Evans at UFC 145. He is scheduled to defend his title against Dan Henderson in September in Las Vegas.
WRITTEN BY Brett Okamoto | ESPN.com & FULL STORY HERE
