Judge’s ruling keeps UFC’s Jones out of jail and in April 23 title fight
By Lance Pugmire | Los Angeles Times (TNS)
A judge in Albuquerque, N.M., has spared former Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones from continued jail time that could have imperiled his scheduled main-event fight to regain the belt April 23 in Las Vegas.
Jones, 28, was jailed last week after receiving five traffic tickets for violations including drag racing, and a policeman’s body video camera was distributed widely showing Jones calling the officer expletives, a “pig,” and a “liar.”
With Jones serving 18 months of probation after crashing his car into a vehicle driven by a pregnant woman whose arm was broken in the crash, a Bernalillo County judge warned Jones not to return to court again or the outcome would be more serious than Thursday’s repercussions.
Jones was ordered to undergo anger-management classes, perform 60 hours of community service and enroll in a driver’s education course, according to reports from Thursday’s court session.
That decision frees him to fight light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier as scheduled in the main event of UFC 197 at MGM Grand.
“Jon is focused on the fight, and his legal team is focused on the traffic charges that were brought against him. We are confident that those charges will be dismissed because they are baseless,” Jones’ publicist, Denise White, wrote in a prepared statement.
“More importantly, however, Jon has done extremely well while he’s been under supervision. He has been sober for more than six months, and he has completed more than 100 hours of community service, working with those most at need in New Mexico. We feel this has been a minor bump in the road of his probation and Jon will continue to do what he needs to do to get through this process.”
UFC has released the following statement:
“UFC respects the decision made today by Judge Michael E. Martinez in New Mexico Second Judicial District Court regarding the probation terms of the case involving Jon Jones.
“The organization was disappointed to learn that Jones was cited for several traffic offenses last week, as well as concerned by the nature and tone of portions of the conversation between Jones and the citing officer.
“Still, UFC respects Jones’ right to contest those traffic citations in court and receive a fair hearing on the matter.
“Jones’ scheduled bout on April 23 will proceed as planned, however, Jones understands that the UFC expects him to fully cooperate with the terms of his probation as set forth by Judge Martinez.”
