The Fall of Jon "Bones" Jones
UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has buried himself in 2015. No more excuses, no more scapegoats, this is all on him.
In the latest news, on Monday, a criminal warrant was issued for Jon Jones, who was listed as a suspect in a hit-and-run accident by the Albuquerque New Mexico Police Department (APD) after an auto accident early Sunday morning. The APD suspects the 27-year-old Jones was involved in a three-car accident with a woman in her 20s who was pregnant and was hospitalized with minor injuries. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, an off-duty police officer identified Jones as fleeing from the scene. The car Jones is suspected of being in was a rental car that also contained a marijuana pipe. Okamoto also said the ABQ spokesperson he talked with was very clear there was no cocaine in the car. Jones was released late Monday night from Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center in Albuquerque, NM, after posting $2,500 bond. He turned himself in at about 7 p.m. after a warrant for felony fleeing the scene of a crime was issued this afternoon. As expected, UFC has yet to make any announcement on Jones' upcoming title defense against Anthony Johnson in late-May, set to main event a major PPV. With all of the distractions surrounding Jones and this latest miscue, him following through with the fight seems highly unlikely. I have been a fan of Jon Jones for years and believe he is the best fighter in all of the UFC. Jones has has dominated the Light heavyweight division, and has taken on all challenges head on. One of the biggest criticisms of Jones has been the assertion by many that he is phony and in-genuine. Jones public persona has not matched up with the persona that many have reported has been his persona behind he scenes. Jones spoke out against those who drink and do drugs in the past, and quoted scriptures presenting a certain image he wanted the public to view him as. But then he was arrested for a DUI and ran his vehicle into a tree in 2012. Well, let's just say the handwriting was on the wall. Last year, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, two of the premier black fighters in UFC, got into a brawl on the floor of the MGM Grand. Then the world was shown the real Jon Jones. In an interview with ESPN, that Jones thought was not being recorded, Jones spoke completely out of the character we grew to know him by. He used language unbecoming of a man of the image he previously portrayed, and his reaction when he found out that the cameras were still filming, gives credence to all those who said he was a phony. His image took a huge hit, and ultimately he lost endorsements. Then, in 2015, after defeating Daniel Cormier in convincing and dominate fashion in January, Jon Jones failed his drug test for cocaine. Yes, booger sugar. Jones admitted to the cocaine use and checked himself into rehab. His image tarnished and his reputation devalued. Also his hormone levels were unusually low for his drug test, which raised many questions about whether he was using some type of making agent to mask HGH use. So much controversy. But this may be something that he won't be able to recover from so quickly. There a few ways this could be handled. The Nevada commission has already painted itself in the corner because of allowing Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight with a number of domestic violence charges as well as serving time and Mayweather even had sentencing on him delayed once so he could fight. Those are the privileges of being a big draw. This felony charge combined with the January drug test failure should lead to: Both UFC and Nevada drug testing him frequently from this point forward. Nevada has its rules and limitations regarding in and out of competition, but UFC should be more proactive with its testing and create rules where at least hard drugs are illegal for fighters in and out of competition. But until those rules are put in place, you can't implement them now. But this can serve as a lesson on how to write rules for the new policy and why out of competition drug failures for hard drugs should be taken seriously. If they are legally able, they should pull Jones from 5/23 to at least allow him to get help, and if he refuses, then suspend him. If he has to be suspended, he should be stripped of the title. Either way, the best course of action is to put Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson on 5/23 in a five-round fight that would either be an interim or regular title fight. One witness to the accident told police that Jones got out of the car after the accident and ran to the hills, before turning around and coming back to grab a "large handful of cash." Then, according to witnesses, he ran off and jumped a fence and wasn't seen again. Yes, this is the fall of Jon Jones. |
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