UFC star Jon Jones vows to BURN Nike gear amid ‘Satan Shoes’ row… before learning company wasn’t behind scandal

UFC light-heavyweight legend Jon Jones reacted to the Nike ‘Satan Shoes’ row by pledging he would torch any sneakers he owned by the company – before repenting after learning Nike wasn’t behind the scandal after all.

Nike has vowed legal action against Brooklyn-based streetwear company MSCHF after it dropped a limited edition run of 666 pairs of Nike Air Max ‘97 sneakers whose air bubble was filled with red ink and “one drop of human blood.”

The footwear, dubbed 'Satan Shoes', also contains the inscription "Luke 10:18" – referring to a bible passage about Satan’s fall from heaven – and is a collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X to coincide with his latest release, the video for which features themes of heaven and hell and shows the musician giving Satan a lap dance.   

The shoes, which also feature a pentagram design and were priced at $1,018 per pair, reportedly sold out within a minute of being released on Monday.

Nike, however, has taken a dim view of the step from MSCHF, vowing to sue it for trademark infringement.

"MSCHF and its unauthorized Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF's products and Nike," the sportswear giant says in the lawsuit.

One man clearly under mistaken belief was longtime UFC light-heavyweight king Jones, who took to Twitter to vow that he would burn all his Nike shoes in disgust at the diabolical new release.

“Tomorrow morning I’m going to burn all my Nike shoes, you will never catch me in that sh*t again,” Jones tweeted to his 2.5 million followers. 

It was then brought to his attention that Nike, in fact, had nothing to do with the release of the shoes, after which the UFC star shared his relief that the footwear giant – with which he inked a global sponsorship deal in 2012 – was not involved in the project.  

“OK, now I’m seeing there is a lawsuit. Glad to know Nike isn’t behind this bullsh*t,” Jones wrote, retracting his pledge. 

The UFC star’s initial reaction is exactly the kind of response which Nike is arguing against in its lawsuit against the MSCHF art collective.

“There is already evidence of significant confusion and dilution occurring in the marketplace, including calls to boycott Nike in response to the launch of MSCHF's Satan Shoes, based on the mistaken belief that Nike has authorized or approved this product,” the company wrote. 

Satanic sneakers are not the only thing on Jones’ mind at the moment, as he continues to wrangle with UFC bosses over a potential superfight with newly-crowned heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Jones has implored the UFC to “show me the money” to set up a fight with the heavy-hitting Cameroonian, after complaining of being underpaid for his services down the years. 

Jones also accused UFC boss Dana White of “insulting” him by claiming he would run scared from the contest with Ngannou.