Jon “Bones” Jones’ days of spinning elbows, knockout punches and other smackdowns in the mixed martial arts Octagon are over — at least in the UFC, at least for now.
That’s what the sports organization, whose full name is the Ultimate Fighting Championship, announced Tuesday after Jones turned himself in to authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for an alleged hit-and-run.
Jones has been stripped of his light heavyweight championship and suspended indefinitely from the UFC, which means he won’t fight Anthony Johnson on May 23 in Las Vegas.
“UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon,” the mixed martial arts organization said in a statement. “While there is disappointment in the recent charges, the organization remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process.”
Jones has been one of the UFC’s biggest stars, its youngest champ ever, who helped propel mixed martial arts into the American mainstream.
But now that career is threatened because of an incident Sunday morning in Albuquerque.
According to police, a man later identified as Jones made an illegal turn at a red light in his silver SUV, then hit a passing car, knocking that car into a third vehicle. THe allegedly got out of the car, fled on foot, then came back to his vehicle to grab “a large hand full of cash” that he shoved into his pants before jumping a fence and running away.
Responding police officers found paperwork in the rented SUV with Jones’ name and MMA information. The police report also indicates police found a marijuana pipe with marijuana inside it, listing “drugs or medication” among apparent factors contributing to the accident.
Police have said that a pregnant woman who was driving one of the other vehicles was injured in the accident.
Albuquerque authorities then identified Jones as a suspect and issued an arrest warrant for him. He turned himself in Monday on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm, according to police.
The arrest is the latest out-of-the-Octagon issue for Jones. In January, he entered a drug rehabilitation center after testing positive for cocaine in a test administered by the Nevada Athletic Commission. He checked himself out of rehab after one day of treatment.
In a tweet Tuesday, Jones acknowledged he erred and that he had work to do.
“Got a lot of soul searching to do,” he wrote. “Sorry to everyone I’ve let down.”
