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Former UFC champ Jon Jones avoids jail time with plea deal
By Ryan McKinnell
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is one step closer to becoming a professional athlete again.
On Tuesday, Jones appeared in Bernalillo County Court to answer for his part in an April hit-and-run that left a local pregnant woman with a broken arm. Jones pleaded guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident and was granted a conditional discharge by Judge Charles Brown.
Under the requirements of the plea deal, Jones will serve 18 months of supervised probation and be required to make 72 appearances for various charities and speaking engagements with children.
After the ruling was handed down, Jones released a statement to the media.
“With regards to today’s decision made by the court, I am very happy to now be able to put this incident behind me. My actions have caused pain and inconvenience in the lives of others and for that I am truly sorry and I accept full responsibility. I have been working hard during this time away from my sport to grow and mature as a man and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I have learned a great deal from this situation and I am determined to emerge a better person because of it. I apologize to those who were affected by my actions in this incident and I am hopeful that I will be given the opportunity to redeem myself in the eyes of the public, my family and friends as well as my supporters. I am not sure what the future holds for me but I plan to continue to do the work needed to be productive and successful in every aspect of my life.”
Jones was stripped of his UFC title on April 28, two days after he ran a red light and stuck a car driven by Albuquerque, New Mexico native Vanessa Sonnenberg.
According to witnesses at the scene, Jones quickly fled the accident, only to return a short while later and recover a handful of cash, then promptly flee again. Jones, however, left behind his rental car agreement with identifying documents, along with marijuana.
After turning himself in to authorities a day later, Jones was subsequently stripped of his UFC light heavyweight title by the promotion, as they promised to gather all the facts before making a final judgement on when, or if, Jones would ever be allowed to return.
UFC owners Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta were in court on Tuesday to show support for Jones. The UFC released a statement shortly after the plea deal was reached.
“The UFC organization is aware that Jon Jones reached a plea agreement with authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this morning stemming from charges associated with a motor vehicle accident earlier this year,” the release states. “As a result, UFC, through Las Vegas-based law firm Campbell & Williams, will thoroughly review the agreement before discussing Jones’ possible reinstatement to return to competition.
“More information will be made available following completion of this review.”
Prior to this very public fall from grace, Jones was widely regarded as the greatest fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts. Becoming the UFC’s youngest-ever champion at just 23, Jones is essentially undefeated (sans a loss to Matt Hamill in 2009, due to a technicality over rule interpretation) over the entirety of his 22-fight, seven-year career.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Jones has been in trouble with the law. In 2012, Jones was arrested on DWI after he crashed his Bentley in upstate New York. And just like Tuesday’s ruling: Jones avoided jail time.
More recently, Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites before his fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in January. Jones was fined by the UFC for the positive test and spent one day in rehab.
Let’s hope the third time is a charm with Jon Jones, and he is able to get his life back on track with this latest chapter coming to a close.
By Ryan McKinnell
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is one step closer to becoming a professional athlete again.
On Tuesday, Jones appeared in Bernalillo County Court to answer for his part in an April hit-and-run that left a local pregnant woman with a broken arm. Jones pleaded guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident and was granted a conditional discharge by Judge Charles Brown.
Under the requirements of the plea deal, Jones will serve 18 months of supervised probation and be required to make 72 appearances for various charities and speaking engagements with children.
After the ruling was handed down, Jones released a statement to the media.
“With regards to today’s decision made by the court, I am very happy to now be able to put this incident behind me. My actions have caused pain and inconvenience in the lives of others and for that I am truly sorry and I accept full responsibility. I have been working hard during this time away from my sport to grow and mature as a man and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I have learned a great deal from this situation and I am determined to emerge a better person because of it. I apologize to those who were affected by my actions in this incident and I am hopeful that I will be given the opportunity to redeem myself in the eyes of the public, my family and friends as well as my supporters. I am not sure what the future holds for me but I plan to continue to do the work needed to be productive and successful in every aspect of my life.”
Jones was stripped of his UFC title on April 28, two days after he ran a red light and stuck a car driven by Albuquerque, New Mexico native Vanessa Sonnenberg.
According to witnesses at the scene, Jones quickly fled the accident, only to return a short while later and recover a handful of cash, then promptly flee again. Jones, however, left behind his rental car agreement with identifying documents, along with marijuana.
After turning himself in to authorities a day later, Jones was subsequently stripped of his UFC light heavyweight title by the promotion, as they promised to gather all the facts before making a final judgement on when, or if, Jones would ever be allowed to return.
UFC owners Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta were in court on Tuesday to show support for Jones. The UFC released a statement shortly after the plea deal was reached.
“The UFC organization is aware that Jon Jones reached a plea agreement with authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this morning stemming from charges associated with a motor vehicle accident earlier this year,” the release states. “As a result, UFC, through Las Vegas-based law firm Campbell & Williams, will thoroughly review the agreement before discussing Jones’ possible reinstatement to return to competition.
“More information will be made available following completion of this review.”
Prior to this very public fall from grace, Jones was widely regarded as the greatest fighter to ever compete in mixed martial arts. Becoming the UFC’s youngest-ever champion at just 23, Jones is essentially undefeated (sans a loss to Matt Hamill in 2009, due to a technicality over rule interpretation) over the entirety of his 22-fight, seven-year career.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Jones has been in trouble with the law. In 2012, Jones was arrested on DWI after he crashed his Bentley in upstate New York. And just like Tuesday’s ruling: Jones avoided jail time.
More recently, Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites before his fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in January. Jones was fined by the UFC for the positive test and spent one day in rehab.
Let’s hope the third time is a charm with Jon Jones, and he is able to get his life back on track with this latest chapter coming to a close.