Jon Jones is without a doubt one of the best fighters in the world today. But in light of his hit and run that took place Sunday morning, he is no longer the UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion.
In light of the news that Jones was involved in a car accident Sunday, reports surfaced that Jones was involved in a three car hit-and-run crash. Jones allegedly ran a red light in a rented Buick SUV and slammed into a car driven by a pregnant woman who suffered a fractured arm as a result of the collision. Jones originally fled the scene but later returned to his vehicle to grab handful of cash.
Jones turned himself in Monday afternoon after a warrant for his arrest was issued, and a marijuana pipe with some in it was also found in the vehicle, though no drug posession charges have been pressed by the state of New Mexico... they could however be revisited.
As a result of this incident, Jones' professional career is very well in the deepest of hot water right now. The UFC suspended Jones indefinitely and also in a shocking move stripped Jones of his Light Heavyweight Championship, one in which he has defended a total of 8 times. Jones has been the centre of controversy in the past but has never faced disciplinary action from the UFC itself.
UFC President Dana White spoke about the incident with Fox Sports 1.
To further add insult to injury the athletic company Reebok which sponsors a handful of UFC fighters (including Jones) announced that they also terminated Jones contract earlier today. This would not be the first time controversy has cost Jones a big deal as his UFC 178 media day brawl with Daniel Cormier cost him his Nike sponsorship last fall. ESPN's Darrell Rovell reported.
Jones was originally set to star in a commercial for the company, but in light of this news, it appears that it is no longer.
But like Dana said, the show will go on and Anthony Johnson who was set to challenge Jones for the title will still compete for the title at UFC 187. Instead, he will be matched up against former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier who Jones defeated in a 5 round war at the beginning of this year. UFC 187 takes place live May 23rd from Las Vegas.
Author: Alex Cochrane
Cited sources: Ariel Helwani & Marc Raimondi (MMAFighting.com)
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Well I have to admit, everything here is to be ashamed of. Jones' work inside the cage is fucking beautiful as I stated in the past. Not to mention that I really wanted to see him fight Johnson because I believed Johnson was the one to beat him and if he beat AJ he would have claned out the division, but conduct is conduct outside or inside the cage. Damn 2015 has not been a good year for Mr. Jones at all. :/
In light of the news that Jones was involved in a car accident Sunday, reports surfaced that Jones was involved in a three car hit-and-run crash. Jones allegedly ran a red light in a rented Buick SUV and slammed into a car driven by a pregnant woman who suffered a fractured arm as a result of the collision. Jones originally fled the scene but later returned to his vehicle to grab handful of cash.
Jones turned himself in Monday afternoon after a warrant for his arrest was issued, and a marijuana pipe with some in it was also found in the vehicle, though no drug posession charges have been pressed by the state of New Mexico... they could however be revisited.
As a result of this incident, Jones' professional career is very well in the deepest of hot water right now. The UFC suspended Jones indefinitely and also in a shocking move stripped Jones of his Light Heavyweight Championship, one in which he has defended a total of 8 times. Jones has been the centre of controversy in the past but has never faced disciplinary action from the UFC itself.
UFC President Dana White spoke about the incident with Fox Sports 1.
Dana White said:He didn't say a lot, obviously he's gotta handle his legal proceedings and his lawyer didn't have him say much. What we wanted to learn was what the facts were, there's a lot of things being said out there about what happened, a lot of them are untrue a lot of them are speculation. So we wanted to hear Jon's side of the story and we wanted to hear what his lawyer had to say about it.
Obviously he's very dissappointed, he's upset, he wanted to go down as one of the greatest ever and he's dissappointed but it is what it is. It's the decision we had to make.
It's not fun, but as they say the show goes on.
To further add insult to injury the athletic company Reebok which sponsors a handful of UFC fighters (including Jones) announced that they also terminated Jones contract earlier today. This would not be the first time controversy has cost Jones a big deal as his UFC 178 media day brawl with Daniel Cormier cost him his Nike sponsorship last fall. ESPN's Darrell Rovell reported.
Darrell Rovell (ESPN) said:In light of recent events, we have made the decision to terminate our contract with Jon Jones, effective immediately.
Jones was originally set to star in a commercial for the company, but in light of this news, it appears that it is no longer.
But like Dana said, the show will go on and Anthony Johnson who was set to challenge Jones for the title will still compete for the title at UFC 187. Instead, he will be matched up against former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier who Jones defeated in a 5 round war at the beginning of this year. UFC 187 takes place live May 23rd from Las Vegas.
Author: Alex Cochrane
Cited sources: Ariel Helwani & Marc Raimondi (MMAFighting.com)
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Well I have to admit, everything here is to be ashamed of. Jones' work inside the cage is fucking beautiful as I stated in the past. Not to mention that I really wanted to see him fight Johnson because I believed Johnson was the one to beat him and if he beat AJ he would have claned out the division, but conduct is conduct outside or inside the cage. Damn 2015 has not been a good year for Mr. Jones at all. :/