UFC President Dana White has admitted Jon Jones has "got some work to do" after being suspended by the organisation for his part in an alleged hit-and-run accident that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm, as reported by Luke Augustus of MailOnline.
Jones was stripped of his light heavyweight title and indefinitely suspended after turning himself in to police, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com. White told ESPN's SportsNation (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com) that Jones needs to seriously knuckle down if he's going to make a return:
A lot of people know, Jon's had a lot of chances. This one was his last chance. He's got to handle his business outside of the Octagon and then we'll see where he goes from there.
Obviously he's one of our biggest stars. He was on his way to becoming one of the greatest ever, and he's got some legal problems he's got to deal with now. So we suspended him, stripped him of the title, and he's got some work to do outside of the sport. Then we'll decide when he comes back.
As reported by MMAWeekly.com (h/t Yahoo Sports), drugs were allegedly found in the fighter's car: "But more than just being involved in the accident, Jones was said to have fled the scene with a 'large handful of cash,' leaving behind marijuana paraphernalia with marijuana in it."
Jones was ranked the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC before his suspension and has been removed from the listings. His May 23 title defence against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has been cancelled, with the No. 1 contender now lining up to face Daniel Cormier for the interim belt, as confirmed by White on Fox Sports Live (h/t Mike Bohn and Matt Erickson of MMAJunkie.com).
Former light heavyweight competitor Chael Sonnen believes White's decision to leave the door open is incorrect.
He spoke to Tatame (h/t Lucas Rezende of Bloody Elbow) and suggested a permanent expulsion should be put in place; otherwise, there was no point in acting at all.
"Taking away his belt was one of the options on the table, but I don't think it was well thought through," said Sonnen. "What will they do to Jon Jones now? Put him on preliminary cards? It's weird. You either cut the guy completely or shut up."
Jones' camp remains quiet, per UFC Tonight:
Jon Jones' manager Malki Kawa has no comment of Jones' future. They're keeping it low key.
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) April 30, 2015
It's unlikely the UFC will pair Jones with a much weaker opponent if he does return. In fact, the organisation could benefit from his reappearance somewhere down the line. If Jones misses a significant amount of time, many fans will be excited to see him step into the octagon once more.
Having won 12 straight before being suspended, per ESPN.com, Jones would likely work himself back into title contention quickly. His situation poses a real dilemma for the UFC, especially as the organisation is moving forward with stricter drug-testing regulations and punishments.
Although Jones' alleged crime doesn't necessarily fall into this category, taking a lenient approach could show weakness on the UFC's part. Permanently cutting a huge moneymaker such as Jones would provide a warning that nobody is bigger than the company, but White seems committed to giving Jones an opportunity to work through his issues.
