UFC reinstates former champ Jones after legal trouble
By GREG BEACHAM | AP Sports Writer
Jon Jones is getting yet another chance in the UFC octagon.
The UFC has reinstated its former light heavyweight champion, lifting Jones’ indefinite suspension after its lawyers reviewed his plea agreement stemming from a hit-and-run crash in Albuquerque in April.
The world’s dominant mixed martial arts promotion hasn’t decided on a date or opponent for Jones’ return. UFC President Dana White has previously said Jones likely would get an immediate title shot against Daniel Cormier, who claimed the light heavyweight belt after Jones’ ban.
“We’ve made it clear to Jon that this new opportunity to compete in UFC is a privilege and not a right, and that there are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward,” UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said in a statement. “We’re happy to read and see reports that he has embraced the terms of his plea agreement and is using this experience to grow and develop as a person.”
The 28-year-old Jones (21-1) was considered the most dominant champion in MMA until his turbulent personal life knocked him out of the cage. He has won 12 straight fights since his only loss on a sketchy disqualification, and he defended his 205-pound title eight consecutive times after winning it in March 2011 to become the youngest champion in UFC history.
Jones beat the previously unbeaten Cormier by a clear unanimous decision in January at UFC 182, but his string of misbehaviors culminated six months ago in that crash in Albuquerque, where the upstate New York native lives and trains.
Police say officers were told by witnesses that Jones ran from a crash that hospitalized a pregnant motorist and then returned to his rental car to grab a wad of cash, leaving behind a pipe with marijuana and rental car documents in his name.
Jones pleaded guilty last month to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. He will serve up to 18 months of supervised probation, but his plea deal kept a felony conviction off his record.
“I am thankful to be able to do what I love once again, and I look forward to proving myself as a champion in and outside of the octagon,” Jones said in a statement.
Jones has kept a low public profile since his suspension, only occasionally popping up on social media. His training partners in Greg Jackson’s Albuquerque gym have praised his attitude during his time away from MMA.
But Jones has a long history of slip-ups in behavior, occasionally landing him in legal trouble.
Jones tested positive for cocaine use three days after his victory over Cormier in January, but spent just one day in a treatment facility for drug abuse before checking himself out.
Jones was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated in Binghamton, New York, in 2012 after smashing his Bentley into a pole. He eventually pleaded guilty and avoided jail time.
Rousey, coach decline to answer champ’s mother’s criticism
UFC champion Ronda Rousey isn’t sharing her opinion of her mother’s sharp criticism of her coach, Edmond Tarverdyan.
Tarverdyan also declined to trade verbal shots with AnnMaria De Mars earlier this week during a promotional appearance for Rousey’s next title defense.
De Mars called Tarverdyan “a terrible coach” and “a bad person” in a video interview with LatiNation earlier this month. De Mars claims Tarverdyan “hit the lottery” when Rousey decided to study mixed martial arts with him.
“Any reaction or response I have to my mother, she’s going to hear it from me, and not a media outlet,” Rousey said, declining to indicate whether she had confronted her mother about it.
Rousey’s mother is a former judo world champion who introduced her daughter to the sport and raised her to be an Olympic medalist. Rousey took up MMA after the Beijing Olympics and swiftly became the UFC’s first women’s bantamweight champion in late 2012.
Rousey and Tarverdyan have been working together for five years. Tarverdyan, a veteran combat sports trainer who also has worked with boxer Vic Darchinyan and other UFC fighters, declined to say much about De Mars’ opinions.
“It’s her mom at the end of the day, and that’s it,” Tarverdyan said. “I’m a person that’s never spoken negatively about anybody’s mom. I’ve always said a mom is a mom. That’s all I have to say.”
Rousey (12-0) will attempt her seventh title defense when she faces Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 15. She has won her previous three fights in 64 combined seconds, establishing herself as the UFC’s most dominant champion and the world’s most famous MMA fighter.
