April - 2016
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
8
speeding tickets either. And it’s
about time the UFC put their
foot down and protected their
investment.
Jones’ record is so bad you
could write a book on the sub-
ject. The Troubled History of
Jon Jones Behind the Wheel.
In 2008, he lost control of his
Subaru, hitting a pair of parked
cars, according to an accident
report obtained by Sports Illus-
trated. In 2009, he was cited
for unsafe passing. In 2011, he
was caught drifting and driving
with a suspended license. In
2012, he wrecked his Bentley
when he hit a utility pole, and
refused a sobriety test.
Right about then, the world
should have been aware Jon
Jones had a problem. Following
the incident, he was ordered
to undergo an alcohol aware-
ness program, had his license
suspended for six months, and
was forced to install an ignition
interlock on all his vehicles.
Only, instead of scaring Jones
straight, this development
seems to do little from deter-
ring Jones from getting behind
the wheel. He didn’t run over
a stop sign and learn his les-
son — instead, he got popped
for cocaine following UFC 182.
Well, at least he wasn’t driving
— that we know of.
Then, in April 2015, the in-
cident that costs him his UFC
championship: Jones hit a
pregnant woman’s car with
a rental vehicle, breaking her
arm in the process, and fled the
scene. He then returned to col-
lect cash left behind in the car,
but fled a second time. What
he did leave behind in the car
was evidence of drug use,
which brings about questions
regarding whether Jones was
driving high. Either way, he dis-
played a callous indifference to
human life.
Jones, again, got lucky in the
aftermath. Lucky that the
woman’s injuries were not
more serious. Lucky that he got
off with probation and com-
munity service rather than jail
time.
Yet here we are, less than a year
later. Jon Jones is once again
in trouble with the law. Once
again, it involves him at the
wheel of the car. This time, he’s
pulled over, allegedly for “drag
racing” — though the defini-
tion of that in New Mexico ap-
pears to be revving your engine
while stopped at an intersec-
tion — and also for an illegal
modification to his car, an ob-
scured license plate, and other
charges. Whatever you think
of how the officer handled
the situation (in video released
to the public, both the offi-
cer and Jones are combative),
you’d think that Jones would,
at this point, have used some
common sense in the situation.
Instead, he lost his cool, calling
the cop a pig, among more col-
orful terms.
And so Jon Jones gets an addi-
tional 60 hours of community
service, a driver improvement
course, and an anger manage-
ment course.
The problem is, if history has
shown anything, it’s that Jones
won’t change. He has a prob-
lem more serious, it seems,
than anything a driver improve-
ment course can correct. If his-
tory is any indicator, he also
won’t learn from his mistakes.
The fact that Daniel Cormier has
now pulled out of the planned
title rematch with Jones at UFC
197 may be a blessing in dis-
guise. Jones clearly needs more
time to work on his personal
issues, but the UFC also needs
to get involved — and do more
than pay lip service to the situ-
ation by discussing how disap-
pointed they are. Step in. Take
the choice away from Jones.
Put pressure on him to get a
driver. Can they outright force
him? Probably not, but they
can tell him that if he wants to
continue fighting for the com-
pany, he can’t be behind the
wheel. They could even foot
the bill — after all, Jones is a
big money maker for the com-
pany. It would simply be pro-
tecting their investment.
A smart business move, in oth-
er words.
