J. Jones (photo) has 21 wins and one loss as a professional. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
*Updated at 00:20 on 29/04/2015
This Sunday afternoon (26), the world of MMA went into uproar with yet another controversy involving the current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones. Rumors began to spread across the internet indicating that something wrong had happened to the fighter, which also raised rumors about his participation in UFC 187, when he would defend his belt for the ninth time.
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Precisely because of the delay before there was an official statement, a lot of inconsistent and inaccurate information was disseminated across the internet. Therefore, the SUPER FIGHTS highlights all the main points known so far about the episode, which characterizes yet another controversy involving the current pound-for-pound number one in Ultimate.
What do you know about the accident?
A traffic accident involving three cars occurred early on Sunday morning (26) in southeast Albuquerque, the largest city in the US state of New Mexico. Second the official police report, the incident was caused when the driver of a silver SUV ran through a red light and side-swiped another car that was crossing the road – and this car hit hit a third vehicle.
The car hit by the SUV was driven by a pregnant woman, identified as Vanessa Sonnenberg. Although she described that she almost fainted at the time of the accident, she was taken to the hospital with a fractured arm and is doing well, without any risk to the baby.
Image released on TV would be of a car driven by Jones. Photo: Reproduction
Jon Jones Was he actually involved in the accident?
The UFC champion was immediately identified by one of the witnesses, an off-duty police officer who said he was a big fight fan. Additionally, Jones' documents were found inside the vehicle, which is rented. A former New York resident, Jones recently moved to Albuquerque, home of Jackson's MMA gym, where he trains.
The witness also stated that the driver ran away from the scene of the accident on foot, returned to the car to get “a large amount of cash” and fled again, jumping over a fence towards the north of the city.
Has Jones already commented on the case?
Not publicly. However, the fighter, after spending more than 24 hours without anyone knowing his whereabouts, handed himself in to the police on Monday night, and provided his first clarifications to the courts. He was released just over three hours later, when he posted bail and was released.
The last time Jones spoke publicly was on Saturday night, when he watched the UFC 186 fights in a bar next to Andrei Arlovski, his training partner, who curiously involved in another accident on Monday morning. Jones even posted photos of the night out on his Instagram, but then deleted them.
What else can you conclude from the accident scene?
Certain amounts of marijuana were also found in the silver SUV, as well as a pipe used to consume the drug. This raises suspicions that the driver in question was driving under the influence of drugs, which is an aggravating factor in possible charges. Because the pregnant woman suffered a broken arm, the episode is classified as a crime followed by failure to provide assistance.
In the recent past, Jones has been involved in cocaine problems. Was this drug present in the accident?
Although initial rumors also indicated cocaine consumption, the Albuquerque police were clear in stating that the only drug found in the accident was marijuana. In other words, it seems that there was no presence of cocaine, at least at the scene of the accident.
What is the UFC's position on the episode?
Initially, Ultimate issued an official statement showing that it was aware of the episode, but that it would gather more information before making a more detailed statement. This happened in the early hours of Wednesday, when the UFC announced that it had stripped Jones of his light heavyweight title and suspended him indefinitely, until his personal and legal issues were resolved.
Immediately, it was announced that Daniel Cormier will face Anthony Johnson for the linear belt in the light heavyweight category, which will see a new champion for the first time since 2011.
The other controversies
This is not the first time that Jon Jones gets involved in trouble outside the UFC. In 2012, the fighter was tried and lost his license for drunk driving and crash his car, a Bentley, into a pole. In 2014, the champion was caught in a drug test for cocaine use. As the test was carried out outside the competition period, 'Bones', as he is known, was not suspended and entered rehabilitation – where he stayed for just one night before being released.
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