As Alexander Volkanovski prepares for his title defense against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 in Sydney, Australia on January 31st, an unexpected situation has emerged involving one of his cornermen. Craig Jones, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor and cornerman, found himself detained by local authorities just days before the major event.
Video footage released by Jones’ video editor shows the grappling specialist being stopped by Australian police and asked to perform a breath test. According to the footage, Jones did not pass the assessment, leading to his temporary detainment.
Adam Jones, Jones’ brother, addressed the incident on social media, posting under the username mrjonesbjj.
“This does not reflect @jonesjiujitsu in any means. We ask for privacy during this difficult time,”
“Things happen.”
The timing of the incident comes as Volkanovski prepares for what many consider a controversial matchup. UFC President Dana White has faced questions from fans regarding the decision to grant Lopes this title opportunity ahead of other contenders in the featherweight division.
White remained characteristically direct when addressing critics at the UFC 314 pre-bout press conference.
“If you don’t like it, don’t watch it,”
Despite the controversy surrounding the matchup itself, White expressed confidence in both competitors heading into the bout.
“I thought (Volkanovski) looked incredible tonight, I don’t ever remember Volk not having a good chin and he’s really not that old,”
One aspect of the matchup that caught White’s attention was the physical dimensions of both MMA stars. Production staff pointed out an interesting detail before their previous encounter: despite Lopes standing five inches taller than the 5’6″ champion, he only holds a one-inch reach advantage.
“I was surprised that Diego wasn’t throwing more jabs and trying to stay on the outside and use his reach advantage a lot more but it was a good (), both guys dug deep and battled,”
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