Jon Jones facing new criminal charge over fleeing scene of car crash as he announces retirement
Jon Jones will retire the way he spent much of his legendary UFC career: With a legal matter hanging over him.
The now-former UFC heavyweight champion announced his retirement on Saturday hours after UFC CEO Dana White told reporters in Baku that Jones was hanging up his gloves. Around the same time, Geoff Grammer of the Albuquerque Journal reported that Jones is facing a criminal summons filed Tuesday over a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident. Uncrowned subsequently confirmed the Journal's report.
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Jones has been ordered to appear in court for a bond arraignment on July 24.
None of that came up in his retirement statement, in which he promised "the best is yet to come" and said he wants to "continue to contribute to the sport and inspire others in new ways."
The allegations against Jon Jones
According to the Journal, an Albuquerque police officer was reportedly investigating a traffic crash on Feb. 21 in which a woman was found in the passenger seat of a car "exhibiting signs of significant intoxication and lacking clothing from the waste down."
The woman reportedly told police that Jones was the driver of the car and fled the scene on foot. She then called Jones and a police service aide spoke to the man on the other line, believed to be Jones. That man allegedly "appeared to be heavily intoxicated and made statements implying his capacity to employ lethal force through third parties" against the aide.
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In response to the perceived threat, the aide reportedly called for a backup and a police officer spoke to the man on the phone, who allegedly made similar "allusions to violence." The man never answered direct questions about whether he was actually Jones.
Jon Jones is going out the most Jon Jones way possible. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
When police interviewed him in person, Jones reportedly claimed the woman left his house intoxicated earlier in the day and called him after getting in the crash. He claimed the person she handed the phone to "immediately opened the conversations with unprofessional language, which led him to doubt the legitimacy of the individual's claim."
The woman reportedly told police she drank alcohol and consumed mushrooms at Jones' house and recalled needing to change her clothes there. Her next recollection was being at the scene of the traffic accident and the last person she remembered driving the car was Jones. Jones also reportedly called the woman's phone 13 times from after the crash to the following morning.
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Jon Jones' retirement ended a bizarre saga
That legal situation can't be definitively tied to Jones' decision to retire, but it certainly feels relevant after Jones opted to end his bizarre standoff over his potential next fight against UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Jones last defended his belt against the 42-year-old Stipe Miocic last November. Since then, he has avoided the UFC's attempts to set a unification fight date against Aspinall, who looms as a potential superstar for the promotion. Seemingly with the UFC's blessing, Jones laughed off Aspinall's expectation of a long-awaited title shot.
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Aspinall was finally promoted to the undisputed heavyweight champion on Saturday in light of Jones' retirement. He figures to get his first title defense soon, while Jones faces a different challenge.
Jon Jones is no stranger to controversy
Incredibly, this isn't even the first time a Jon Jones title reign has ended in the wake of a car crash. His first reign as UFC light heavyweight champion ended due to a hit-and-run accident that injured a pregnant woman. In that situation, Jones fled the scene on foot following the crash, only to return, grab cash from inside the vehicle, then flee again.
Going only off the results of the Octagon, Jones is one of the few best answers out there for MMA's GOAT, but he has been routinely prone to allegations and controversy, with failed drug tests and contract standoffs making him an intermittent presence for the UFC in the later stages of his career.
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