Jon Jones has opened up on the fallout with Lewis Hamilton after a hunting video sparked a sudden end to their friendship, with the former UFC champion saying the F1 star sent him a long message, called him a coward and then blocked him on social media.
Speaking in a recent interview with ALF Global League, Jones said the pair had been friends before footage surfaced in 2021 showing him hunting pigs from a helicopter with a group of Army Rangers. Jones said the incident became a personal flashpoint once Hamilton saw the video and responded forcefully.
What Hamilton said to Jones
Jones recalled: “Funny story – Lewis Hamilton,” before explaining that he had gone hunting “years ago with a bunch of Army Rangers” and that they “ended up hunting pigs from a helicopter, using AR-15s.”
He said he was “so proud” after shooting one of the pigs from the helicopter and added that the animal was later donated to an underprivileged family in the community. But Jones said Hamilton did not see the situation the same way.
According to Jones, Hamilton sent him “a long message saying I was a coward,” adding that the seven-time Formula One World Drivers’ Championship winner told him it was cowardly to shoot an animal from a helicopter and that the animal should at least have had “the chance to fight me back.” Jones said Hamilton then “unfollowed me, blocked me, and it sucked because I was his fan.”
Why the friendship ended
The hunting footage was the turning point. Jones said he and Hamilton had a friendship before the clip surfaced, but the reaction from Hamilton brought that relationship to an abrupt end. That is the clear answer to what caused the split: the video, Hamilton’s objection to the hunt, and the way he responded afterwards.
The wider backdrop matters here as well. Hamilton is a proud vegan and detests animal cruelty, so it is not hard to see why the footage would have prompted such a strong reaction. Jones, for his part, has shown before that he can move past ugly disputes, and he recently did exactly that with Dana White when the two squashed their feud at UFC 329.
Jones even ended his story with an apology, saying: “Lewis, if you’re listening, I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry.” It was a brief but telling moment from one of combat sport’s biggest names, and it underlined how a single piece of footage can change the tone between two high-profile figures very quickly.
Jones has also been involved in other recent tension, including the suggestion that his situation with Alex Pereira looked more like a miscommunication than a real beef. But on this occasion, the issue was much more direct: a hunting video, a strong reaction from Hamilton, and a friendship that clearly did not survive it.
