UFC legend Anderson Silva said on Monday he is shocked and saddened by Jon Jones' latest run-in with the law. 

Jones, 34, was released on bail on Friday after being arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of misdemeanour battery domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle. 

Speaking publicly about the alleged incident for the first time after a busy day of sparring at his Spider Kick gym in Los Angeles, Silva offered his support to Jones and described him as 'my little brother'.

“I don’t know what happened with Jon Jones but I feel sad because I feel Jon Jones is my little brother,” Silva told MMA Fighting.

Read More: UFC 266: Alexander Volkanovski answers Conor McGregor's callout after beating Brian Ortega

“I [say] this to my manager all the time. Jon Jones don’t need that. He’s an amazing person.

"I feel sad. It’s tough for me to be talking about Jon Jones, you know?”

Jon Jones poses for a photo with Anderson Silva at the 2012 ESPY Awards at the Nokia Theatre

According to American outlet ESPN, Jones was arrested on September 24 and is not due back for his court date until October 26.

The American MMA fighter was reportedly taken into custody just hours after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.   

Jones is often referred to as the pound-for-pound best fighter in MMA history, as well as being the youngest champion since the existence of the UFC, having won the light-heavyweight title with his victory over Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua at the age of 23. 

But he has often fallen afoul of the law and has not fought since February 2020. 

Speaking to ESPN, UFC president Dana White said: "It's hard to bring this guy to Las Vegas, for any reason.

"This city is not good for Jon Jones, and here we are again.

"It's not even shocking anymore.

"When we bring him here, it's almost expected.

"We can't even get him to Las Vegas for less than 12 hours and induct him into the Hall of Fame.

"It's a problem. This guy's got a lot of demons, man, a lot of demons."

Can you get full marks on the ultimate Anderson Silva quiz?

Read More: UFC legend Anderson Silva names his boxing heroes including Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones Jr