Jon Jones facing felony charges following hit and run
Joe Camporeale / USA TODAY Sports
UFC superstar Jon Jones is out on bond and facing felony charges after allegedly fleeing the scene of a car accident in Albuquerque, N.M.
Need to Know
- The UFC acted swiftly, stripping Jones of his light heavyweight title and suspending him indefinitely.
- A contrite Jones took to Twitter to express his remorse "to everyone I've let down."
- Malki Kawa, Jones' manager, said that the former light heavyweight champ may never return to the Octagon and puts the chances of a Jones return at "50-50."
- Reebok reportedly terminated its relationship with Jones, becoming the second major apparel brand to sever ties with the fighter.
- On top of stripping Jones of his title, the UFC scrubbed him from their official pound-for-pound rankings.
- UFC president Dana White was blunt in his assessment of the situation, saying "Jon's had a lot of chances. This one was his last chance."
Further Reading
- MMAFighting.com's Chuck Mindenhall discussed the disturbing pattern of behavior that resulted in Jones' precipitous fall from grace: "The the fact that he supposedly came back to grab a fistful of cash from the abandoned rental car is the reddest of red flags. If true, that was a disarming look at Jones’ instincts. That was the glimpse at the sad place Jones, in his greatness, has ascended to. That is the sum of his experience." [MMAFighting]
- With Jones needing to do a complete reevaluation of his life, Sherdog.com's Greg Savage suggests he eliminate the "yes men" from his existence: "At the end of the day, the biggest concern for Jones and his people has to be the health and welfare of the man himself. There is no way he is acting this way and doing the things he has been doing unless he is surrounded by yes men. He needs at least one person he is willing to listen to that will give it to him straight." [Sherdog]
- Elias Cepeda of FOX Sports writes about the now wide-open 205-pound division: "That division (bantamweight) has moved on (from Dominick Cruz), and so too would light heavyweight, eventually. If that happens, there are many top fighters who are good enough to become champion." [FOX Sports]
Top Tweets
Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I've let down.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) April 29, 2015
@JonnyBones best of luck with everything bro.
Regardless of everything you are still the greatest light heavyweight champion of all time!
— Anthony Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble) April 29, 2015
BREAKING: Jon Jones out of #UFC187. @dc_mma steps in to face @Anthony_Rumble for the LHW title. pic.twitter.com/CNne35Nukf
— UFC (@ufc) April 29, 2015