If you happened to be following UFC news on Sunday afternoon, it was a confusing and chaotic time. Depending on what outlet you were reading, Jon Jones was injured and out of his UFC 187 fight against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Or Jon Jones was involved in a car accident but the fight was not off. Wait, now it’s not just an accident, but a hit-and-run!
Some were reporting Jones was found with cocaine. Some said Jones was under arrest. Others claimed he had caused the accident and fled the scene. Worse, it came out that the person hit was a pregnant woman, and she was hospitalized.
Now that a day has passed since the accident, more solid details are beginning to come to light. There was a three cars involved in the accident, and several witnesses, including an off duty cop, claiming Jones hoofed it from the scene of the accident on foot. Here’s the latest from TMZ Sports:
One witness says Jones got out of his silver Buick and ran into the hills — before slouching over and darting back to the car to grab a “large handful of cash.”
After that, witnesses say Jones jumped a nearby fence and ran off.
As for the initial crash, cops say Jones ran a red light … and slammed into the pregnant woman’s car. The woman told responders she felt like she was going to pass out. She was taken to a nearby hospital.
Found inside the rental car: documents tying the vehicle to Jon Jones … and a marijuana pipe. Jones’ appreciation for weed is the second worst secret in his closet after the cocaine stuff, with pipes popping up on occasion in the background of his Instagram photos. But this will be the first time he’s ended up officially tied to the drug.
The UFC has largely kept silent on the issue, simply releasing a two sentence statement to Yahoo Sports saying “We are aware that the Albuquerque Police Department is interested in speaking to Jon Jones regarding his possible involvement in a motor vehicle accident. We are in the process of gathering facts and will reserve further comment until more information is available.”
If this was a lesser known fighter involved in a small fight, there’s a very good chance the promotion would cancel the fight and sanction the athlete. But Jones vs. Johnson is one of the biggest matches of the summer for the promotion, so unless this story gets a lot uglier you can still expect to see the two face off on Memorial Day Weekend.
More on this story, ugly and otherwise, to come. Stay tuned.
