It is no secret that UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Corey Anderson aren’t on the best terms with one another.
However, it may have gone too far between the two when Anderson mocked Jones’ religious beliefs in late 2018.
“A lot of his Bible sh*t is fake to me,” Anderson told TMZ Sports (via Simon Samano of MMA Junkie). “The fact that he keeps quoting these Bible verses, and he’s even got Philippians 4:13, which is one of my favorite verses, tatted on his chest. I’m the type of person that I wake up in the morning, and I read my Bible. I’m a God-fearing man. He puts things (out there), ‘God this, God that.’ But then he goes out and does drugs, you’re popping for steroids, and you’re failing a test, and you’re (committing hit-and-run against) pregnant women and running from the scene. You can’t sit there and mix God and still live that life.”
Anderson now realizes that mocking Jones’ religious beliefs may have been the wrong thing to do, as the fighter issued the following apology through Instagram:
“(Ever) since the UFC 232 incident, I allowed myself to come out of my character as a believer. And I blame myself for allowing it to happen. So I’d like to make a public apology to Jon Jones for all my previous social media posts and interviews about his religious beliefs and being a Christian. In this time away from the world, I’ve been able to dig deep into my Bible, pray and ask questions about living my life more and more as a Child of God. And one of the the things I’ve learned is that, as a believer myself, I should have directed my issues pertaining (to) his beliefs DIRECTLY to him and not into the media. As a man, I can admit when I am wrong, and I was/am wrong. As a fighter and a competitor, it’s easy to let the way of the world influence you to do the things the world wants you to do. But as a believer, I AM supposed to live the way the LORD wants me to and walk the way that will shed light on him and his word.”
There has been no response yet from Jones following the apology issued by Anderson.
