Jon Jones Pleads Not Guilty to Drag Racing, Hires a Driver
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has pleaded not guilty to drag racing and the four other citations recently issued to him in Albuquerque, N.M.
Jones was initially slated for a traffic hearing on Thursday, April 5, stemming from the citations, but he instead pleaded not guilty and was granted a waiver of arraignment. He is now set to go to trial on May 11 in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
The move clears the way for Jones to focus on final preparations for his UFC 197 headlining bout opposite Ovince Saint Preux on April 23 in Las Vegas. Jones and Saint Preux will battle for the interim version of the UFC light heavyweight title after champion Daniel Cormier had to back out of the fight with Jones due to injury.
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It was a tough road for Jones getting to this point. The traffic stop and five citations constituted a probation violation for Jones, who was stripped of the light heavyweight title and was on probation stemming from a felony hit and run charge from April of 2015. He subsequently spent three days in jail before pleading guilty to the probation violation charge and agreeing to further probation stipulations in order to gain his release.
The drag racing incident was aggravated by a heated conversation with the issuing officer, as Jones was caught on policy bodycam video being belligerent, calling the officer a “(expletive) liar” and a “pig.”
Jones has been and and out of trouble throughout his career, and this latest incident finally forced his hand. He has heeded the advice of numerous people who said he should hire a driver, as most of the trouble he's found himself in has occurred while he was behind the wheel.
“There's a pattern throughout my career,” Jones said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “I've never gotten into a street fight, nothing crazy. It's always been something behind the wheel. So, by simply not driving, I'm pretty positive that there won't be any issues coming up in my life, especially (with my) sobriety as well. I've failed some drug tests in the past and I've gotten some traffic issues in the past. Now that I'm sober, now that I'm just not going to drive anyone for a while, I think we're going to be good.”
Jones will now attempt to win the interim version of the championship he never lost on April 23, and then plan for a rematch with Cormier to unify the belts when Cormier returns from injury.
