By: Jesse Donathan

Jon Jones is in trouble again. If it seems like you’ve heard this song and dance before, it’s because you have. Just when the mixed martial arts community was coming around to the notion Jones finally hadn’t failed a pre or post fight test for performance enhancing drug use following his latest matchup against Thiago Santos; Jon inevitably finds himself back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons once again.

According to a July 21, 2019 KRQE News 13 report titled, “Jon ‘Bones’ Jones claims to be unaware of battery charge, warrant until now,” author Jeannie Nguyen writes that, “A popular UFC fighter from Albuquerque with a criminal history, now finds himself in more trouble. Jon “Bones” Jones has been slapped with a battery charge for an incident that happened at a strip club in April.”

For those familiar Jones’s past, claiming complete ignorance about the charge might sound like a hard pill to swallow. The center of controversy in and outside the cage throughout his career, according to KRQE News 13, “This isn’t Jones’ first run-in with the law here in Albuquerque. Back in 2015, he was convicted of leaving the scene after crashing into a car and injuring a pregnant woman.”

With a well-documented history of criminal mischief, a 2018 bloodyelbow.com report titled, “Jon Jones admitted to cocaine use throughout 2017 during USADA arbitration,” went on to note that, “Jon Jones had a well-publicized positive test for cocaine metabolites stemming from a 2014 test ahead of UFC 182.” According to Bloody Elbow, “The arbitration hearing for Jon Jones’ suspension discovered the former UFC champion continued to use cocaine both before and after his positive test for Turinabol, resulting in another stint in rehab.”

“About two weeks ago, Jones was defending his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Thiago Santos,” writes Nguyen. But according to KRQE News 13, “While the spotlight was on him in Las Vegas, there was a bench warrant for his arrest at the time.” According to the report, Jones was at TD’s Eubank Showclub in April when the incident occurred. “A cocktail waitress called officers to her home and told them Jones slapped her inappropriately, and pulled her down to his lap and kissed her neck, while she was at work.”

As if the allegations couldn’t get any worse, according to KRQE, “The waitress told police he also placed her in a chokehold and picked her up off the ground. When she told him to stop, Jones allegedly kept touching her until he decided to leave. He was then charged with battery.” KRQE went on to publish the following message from Jones’s spokesperson James Hallinan:

“Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address. However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public.”

“Since Jones went to pay the cash bond on Sunday, his warrant has been lifted. APD says they never arrested him because they’re not normally made aware of petty misdemeanor warrants like this,” writes Nguyen.

Jones won a controversial split decision over Brazilian Thiago Santos earlier this month. It was a much more competitive fight than many fans and pundits expected, leaving Santos with a new found respect in the mixed martial arts community despite coming up short on the judges score cards. This latest legal setback for Jones is just an indicator of what kind of non-championship lifestyle he is living outside the cage.

Which, if his recent performance against Santos is any indicator, is indicative of his inevitable fall from light heavyweight glory unless he cleans his act up soon. Perhaps the greatest fighter the sport has ever seen, one can only rest on their laurels for so long in the club before a new kid on the block shows up to take your crown.

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