The UFC has "stripped Jon Jones of his light-heavyweight title and suspended him indefinitely after Jones was charged in a felony hit-and-run incident over the weekend that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm," according to FS1's Jay Onrait. Jones "will not fight" in UFC 187 against Anthony Johnson on May 23, with Daniel Cormier set to replace him. UFC President Dana White noted Jones "didn't say a lot" during a face-to-face meeting yesterday. White: "It was the decision we had to make. ... We have a guy like Jon Jones who has defended his title as many times as he has, and for us to have to go in and strip him of his title and suspend him, it's not fun." White added of a timetable for Jones' return, "I don't know what's going to happen. ... Obviously, he needs to focus on his legal matters right now" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 4/28). In Albuquerque, Nathanson & Grammer in a front-page piece report the decision to discipline Jones became known late yesterday, shortly after he "made his first public comments" on the incident. He posted on Twitter, “Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I’ve let down." UFC in a statement said that Jones "violated the fight promotion’s Athlete Code of Conduct Policy based on the recent charges and other past incidents, including a recent failed drug test for cocaine" (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, 4/29).
AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE: FS1's Karyn Bryant said Jones' discipline is "unprecedented," as he is the "first UFC champion to ever be stripped by the UFC for violating its athlete code of conduct policy." FS1's Kenny Florian asked White, "Is this a pattern we'll see from the UFC? Could other champions be stripped for similar issues?" White: "This is the first time I think it's ever happened. ... I mean guys have been cut for things, for different reasons." UFC fighter Michael Bisping said, "The UFC's hands were tied here. They had to make an example out of Jon Jones. They can't go around behaving like this. They had to send a message to the public that the UFC doesn't accept these types of behavior and also they had to send a message to all the other fighters on the roster that this will not be tolerated. You cannot go out there and represent the company, the UFC, in such a fashion" ("UFC Tonight," FS1, 4/28). ESPN’s Bomani Jones prior to UFC's decision said, “You don’t lose your title ... based on something disciplinary. This isn’t the NCAA, we’re not vacating wins." However, he also wondered what responsibility the UFC has with Jon Jones, as the promotion's "biggest star sounds like a straight-up fiend” (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 4/28).
