'Is this sh*t even about George Floyd anymore?': Enraged UFC champ Jon Jones takes on protest vandals (VIDEO)

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones took the law into his own hands as he tackled vandals in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, amid continued unrest across the US following the death of George Floyd.

In a video shared with his 5 million Instagram followers, Jones confronted a pair of masked youths who were carrying spray cans during protests on Sunday night.  

"Give me the spray can," the fighter can be heard yelling as he follows one youth into the road. 

After he hands it over, Jones turns his attentions to a balaclava-clad youngster on the sidewalk, also forcing him to hand over the offending item. 

In a message accompanying the clip, Jones made his stance clear on the widespread destruction across the US. 

"Is this sh*t even about George Floyd anymore?!?" Jones fumed. 

"Why the f*ck are you punk a** teenagers destroying our city!??

"As a young black man trust me I’m frustrated as well. But this is not the way, we are starting to make a bad situation worse.

"If you really got love for the 505 [New Mexico], protect your sh*t.

"All you old heads need to speak up, call your family members and tell them to come home tonight."

Jones' actions won praise from his followers, with publisher Seth Semilof writing: "Great work Jon! Time to take back our streets and protect our communities."

"Lol they ran into the wrong one," another fan replied. 

In contrast to many parts of the US, Albuquerque saw largely peaceful protests on Sunday night over the death of Floyd - an African American killed at the hands of police in Minneapolis last week.

Rioting and looting has hit Minneapolis and other major cities including Atlanta, Chicago and Washington DC, prompting a mass police deployment and use of the US National Guard.   

In addition to his recent crime-fighting, Jones has been locked in a battle of a different kind with UFC boss Dana White over a bitter pay dispute. 

White has accused Jones, 32, of asking for $30 million for a potential superfight against heavyweight powerhouse Francis Ngannou, which saw negotiations for the bout fall through almost instantly. 

Jones has rejected those claims, but has accused White of not valuing his services highly enough as someone widely regarded as among the greatest MMA fighters of all time.

Jones said on Sunday that he was "vacating" his UFC light heavyweight title as a result of the row, also hinting at a switch to boxing and claiming he could earn more for one bout in the ring than he would for three contests in the octagon.