Jon ’Bones’ Jones has been stripped of his UFC light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely in the wake of his felony charges in a hit-and-run accident in Albuquerque.
The UFC said in a statement Tuesday night that the title fight that had been scheduled for UFC 187 in Las Vegasm between Mr. Jones and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, will go forward, but with Daniel Cormier replacing Mr. Jones and the title still at stake.
“UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon,” the organization said in a statement.
Mr. Jones met Tuesday in Albuquerque with UFC President Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitia.
In an interview Tuesday night with Fox Sports, Mr. White said he and Mr. Fertitia wanted to determine the facts and get Mr. Jones’s side, but acknowledged that Mr. Jones’s lawyer meant the fighter could say little.
“Obviously he needs to focus on his legal matters,” Mr. White said.
“Obviously, he’s very disappointed. He’s upset,” Mr. White said of perhaps the organization’s biggest star. But the stripping and suspension “was the decision we had to make.”
In his first public words since the Sunday night accident, Mr. Jones tweeted Tuesday night: “Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I’ve let down.”
According to Mr. White, “the show must go on,” telling Fox Sports that while Mr. Johnson was obviously on course for a title fight, Mr. Cormier was extremely excited to get another shot at the title — Mr. Jones beat him in January — even on this short notice.
Earlier Tuesday, Mr. Jones made his first court appearance in the accident, which broke the arm and wrist of a pregnant woman.
Mr. Jones has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injuries. He had turned himself in Monday night and released shortly afterward on $2,500 bond.
He was definitively freed before trial with no further bond posted after the Tuesday afternoon hearing, but must submit to a variety of pre-trial restrictions, including not possessing or consuming alcohol or any illegal drugs, or entering liquor establishments.
The police report on the accident, released to the public Monday, said that the driver of a 2015 Buick SUV fled the scene after causing a three-car accident by running a traffic light. Marijuana and a pipe, along with mixed-martial-arts material and other identifications of Mr. Jones were found inside the car.
According to eyewitnesses cited in the police report, the driver started to flee, went back inside the vehicle to grab a large amount of cash and then fled again in earnest. Mr. Jones was identified by a policeman as the man fleeing the scene.
Mr. Jones has had several run-ins with police, drugs and driving in recent years.
In 2012, he drove his Bentley into a pole and pleaded guilty to DUI charges. In January, he tested positive for a cocaine metabolite in the sunup to a fight and checked himself into rehab, though he only stayed there one night.
“I’m not a cocaine addict by any means or not even a frequent user. I just made a really dumb decision and got caught with my pants down in this whole situation,” he said in an interview later.
Mr. Jones had been light-heavyweight champion for more than four years, had successfully defended it eight times; and was widely considered the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter. His only loss was a disputed qualification against Matt Hamill, a fight he had been dominating before throwing an elbow that was illegal by a few inches because of the angle from which it was thrown.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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