Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is once again at odds with the law, after an Albuquerque judge issued a warrant for his arrest on Tuesday, March 29 (Wednesday, March 30, Manila time).
The troubled mixed martial arts (MMA) star turned himself to authorities in the wake of the citation he got for allegedly drag racing near a traffic stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week—citing reports from MMA website mmamania.com.
It probably didn’t help that Jones, who was once ranked number one in the UFC’s pound for pound list, was videotaped losing his cool and calling the police officer at the scene a ‘despicable pig’.
The 28-year-old New York native is under strict probation due to his involvement in a hit-and-run case in 2015.
One of the terms for his indefinite parole was to stay away from legal trouble—a promise he clearly violated which prompted his arrest.
Jon Jones’ official mug shot released by American paparazzi website, TMZ Sports.
Jones, who spoke with the MMAHour about the incident, insisted that the details about his felony was completely fabricated by the police officer.
“I think he was a DWI [Driving While Intoxicated] cop. He wanted to find a drunk driver, and once he saw that I was sober, he wanted to find something to justify pulling me over,” said the accused Jones.
He did, however, admit to spatting unpleasant things to the police officer, which Jones claims as something he ‘regrets doing’.
“Bones” is still expected to headline the upcoming UFC 197 pay-per-view (PPV) event on April 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada, against longtime rival and current 205-pound titleholder Daniel Cormier.
Meanwhile, the UFC has recently released a statement to the media addressing the situation via MMA Fighting:
“UFC is aware that Jon Jones turned himself into the Albuquerque Police Department this morning for a potential probation violation stemming from a traffic stop last week. The UFC has been in touch with Jones’ legal team and will have no further comment until the organization has had appropriate time to gather necessary information,”.