Jon "Bones" Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, may be making some progress in returning to the octagon from his indefinite suspension. Jones was stripped of his title after being charged with a felony hit-and-run just weeks before a scheduled title defense vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson at UFC 187.
Jones reportedly ran a red light and struck a pregnant woman's car. The woman suffered a broken arm in the accident. Jones fled the scene, and wasn't found for a full 24 hours before he eventually turned himself in to Albuquerque police. Jones' legal team might be preparing for him to cop a plea deal in Bernalillo County Second Judicial District Court, according to MMAFighting.com.
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If Jones can settle the matter outside of court, he can begin the process of returning to the UFC. Of course, that road will not be an easy one to travel, since this hit-and-run was not the first time Jones had run afoul of both the law, and the UFC.
In May 2012 Jones drove drunk and crashed his Bentley into a telephone pole in Binghamton, New York and got arrested. Then, Jones failed a drug test a month before a January title defense against Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, testing positive for cocaine. The news broke after Jones had beaten Cormier, and he went to rehab in response to the test, but checked out of rehab after one day.
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If Jones can come back to the octagon quickly, he might be in line to jump right back into the title picture. Since he was never beaten for his title, many feel that Cormier, who replaced him at UFC 187 and defeated Johnson, is not the real champion. Cormier is scheduled to fight Alexander Gustafsson on Oct. 3, and has unresolved issues with streaking light heavyweight Ryan Bader. Also, should Jones return, it's likely he would require at least one tuneup fight before facing Cormier.
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