Jon Jones explains why Lewis Hamilton blocked him and called him a 'coward'

On July 29, 2026, former UFC champion Jon Jones made public the circumstances that led F1 star Lewis Hamilton to unfollow and block him on social media. Jones said the dispute involved a disagreement that ultimately ended their friendship, and he reported that Hamilton had labeled him a 'coward'.

Both men are cross-sport figures who had maintained a rapport until the conflict. Jones described the split as stemming from a single falling-out rather than a long-running feud. The social-media actions — unfollowing and blocking — served as the visible markers of the break between them. Jones characterized the reason behind those actions as surprising to him.

Jones has framed his account as an explanation for why Hamilton severed online ties. He emphasized that the disagreement was the turning point and that it concluded their friendship. Beyond that, Jones has not disclosed extended details of the exchange that precipitated Hamilton’s response. The matter has been presented by Jones as a personal dispute rather than a public controversy with further participants.

The specific word Jones reports Hamilton used was 'coward', a term Jones attributes directly to Hamilton in describing how the confrontation unfolded. That characterization was, according to Jones, part of the reason for Hamilton’s decision to unfollow and block. Jones’ telling focuses on the immediate break in contact rather than on any attempts at reconciliation. He did not offer additional direct quotations from Hamilton beyond that single-word characterization.

Jones has described the episode as unexpected, stressing that the cause of the fallout surprised him. He framed the revelation as shedding light on why the two public figures no longer maintained a friendship. Jones’ comments concentrated on the end result — the social-media severing and the name used by Hamilton — rather than on a broader narrative about their past interactions. No further particulars about the timing or exact circumstances of the exchange were provided in Jones’ account.

The disclosure clarifies that a disagreement, followed by an unfollow and block, ended the relationship between Jones and Hamilton, and that Hamilton called Jones a 'coward'. Jones’ remarks leave the core event identified without extensive elaboration, offering a concise account of why the two figures went their separate ways.