Lewis Hamilton left furious by ‘cowardly’ act as private conversation comes to light | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton was reportedly left fuming with the actions of UFC star Jon Jones to the point he blocked him on social media. Jones, much like Hamilton, is considered one of the best-ever to compete in his respective sport, and during his UFC career was never beaten or finished by an opponent inside the cage.

However, Jones lost the respect of Hamilton, not for his actions in the cage, but elsewhere. Instead, it relates to a hunt Jones was on a few years ago, with Hamilton having reacted angrily after the UFC star hunted pigs with army rangers, eventually killing one by shooting with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

Recalling the incident, Jones said: “Lewis Hamilton, I went hunting years ago with a bunch of army rangers and we ended up hunting pigs from a helicopter using AR-15’s. I was so proud of myself because I killed one of the pigs from the helicopter.

“My pig was donated to an underprivileged family in the community. But Lewis saw me shoot the pig from the helicopter and he wrote me a long message saying that I was a coward and he thought I was better than that.

“He said that the traditional way of killing animals should be with a spear or bow and arrow. He said only a coward could shoot an animal from a helicopter, give the animal a chance to fight you back at least.”

Before adding: “He unfollowed me and he blocked me. It sucked because I was a fan of him. He was very disappointed in me.”

The original post had read: “One shot, one kill, lots of bacon. Was an honour hunting with Medal of Honour recipient Patrick Payne.”

After coming under criticism, Jones responded: “I apologise if this video makes some of you guys uncomfortable, at the same time I’m excited for my shipment of meat to get to Albuquerque. I took my time with that first shot to make sure the animal did not suffer. Bet half you guys that are offended eats sausages and bacon on a daily basis.”

Hamilton has long been an outspoken advocate of animal rights and the seven-time world champion switched to a plant-based diet in 2017. On the lifestyle change, Hamilton said: “I urge you to do some research, find the compassion I know you have within you to recognise what you are contributing to in terms of what you eat which keeps the meat and dairy industry flourishing and therefore, deforestation, animal cruelty, our seas and climate decaying on a daily basis.”