Jon Jones, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, is in court today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to enter a new plea in his reckless driving case. TMZ is there, and they spotted UFC President Dana White sitting in the gallery to support him. Jones was arrested in April following a hit an run accident where he allegedly ran into a pregnant woman’s car with his rental and fled on foot.Witnesses alleged that Jones briefly returned to collect some cash. Marijuana and a pipe were found in the rental car by police. Once Jones was arraigned, the UFC stripped him of his title after a meeting with White in Albuquerque and Reebok opted out of their sponsorship contract with him, which is separate from UFC’s uniform deal.
At the time, White told ESPN that “A lot of people know, Jon’s had a lot of chances.This one was his last chance. He’s got to handle his business outside of the Octagon and then we’ll see where he goes from there.” Jones had previously been arrested on a drunk driving charge, gotten into other traffic incidents, and tested positive for cocaine out of competition. White added that “Obviously he’s one of our biggest stars. He was on his way to becoming one of the greatest ever, and he’s got some legal problems he’s got to deal with now. So we suspended him, stripped him of the title, and he’s got some work to do outside of the sport. Then we’ll decide when he comes back.”
A few weeks later, White announced on The Jim Rome Show that Jones will get an immediate title shot when he ties up his legal issues and returns. Daniel Cormier defends the title against Alexander Gustafsson this Saturday (October 3rd) at UFC 192.
