This has not been a good week for Jon Jones. On Sunday, Jones was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that left a pregnant woman with a fractured arm and wrist. According to police reports, Jones was identified by an off-duty police officer as the suspect in the hit-and-run, and after an arrest warrant was put out for him, on Jones turned himself into police custody on Monday. He later posted a $2,500 bond. On Tuesday, Jones went to court but did not enter a plea. Later in the day, UFC president Dana White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta met with Jones in Albuquerque to talk about what happened. According to White, Jones did not say much, as he was instructed by his lawyer not to say anything. The UFC was apparently not satisfied with what they did hear from Jones, as the promotion decided the best course of action was to suspend Jones indefinitely and strip him of the UFC light heavyweight title. This is the statement the UFC released on Jones: UFC announced that it has suspended Jon Jones indefinitely and stripped him of the light heavyweight title as a result of violations of the organization’s Athlete Code of Conduct Policy. Jones was recently arrested in Albuquerque, N.M. on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury. As a result of the charge and other violations of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy, the organization believes it is best to allow Jones time to focus on his pending legal matters. UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon. While there is disappointment in the recent charges, the organization remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process. With Jones stripped of the belt, his scheduled opponent for UFC 187, Anthony Johnson, will now take on Daniel Cormier for the vacant title. The odds for that fight will be released shortly, so stay tuned to MMAOddsbreaker.com for that. Getting back to Jones, this alleged incident is just the latest in a string of controversies for the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Back in 2011, Jones was cited for a DWI after crashing his Bentley into a pole. Then in late 2014, Jones tested positive out of competition for cocaine, although his fight with Cormier at UFC 182 still happened. With two strikes already under his belt, the UFC apparently had enough of Jones’ antics after this reported hit-and-run accident, and decided to take swift and stern actions. Jones is the best fighter in the world, but he is a troubled man, clearly. As someone who has been covering the sport on a daily basis for nearly five years now, I can say without a doubt that Jones is the best fighter I have ever seen compete inside the MMA cage, but he’s also the most polarizing figure the sport has ever seen. On one hand he’s the most talented fighter in the world, but on the other hand his personal troubles are so dire that they finally have begun to overshadow his career, and he clearly has a lot of “soul searching” to do, as he wrote in a tweet on Tuesday night. It will be curious to see how long Jones’ suspension ends up being and if he even wants to return to fighting once he cleans his act up. Hopefully we have not seen the last of Jones, but in a sport where anything can and will happen, how could it shock anyone if he decided to walk away for good after this?
