(Cheer up Jon, today’s gonna be a bright, bright, sun-shiny day!”)
Jon Jones is not a good person. It’s something that he’s demonstrated at nearly every turn — first when he decided to drive drunk and subsequently total his car with two passengers onboard, then when he decided to…drive drunk and/or stoned and subsequently total his car by smashing it into a pregnant woman. Did I mention that he fled the scene in that second instance?
But Jon Jones does happen to be a GREAT fighter, and that’s all the UFC really cares about. I don’t mean to say that as if they shouldn’t. Here’s an organization that re-hired Thiago Silva after he battered his wife and had an armed standoff with police, glossed over the facts of Anthony Johnson‘s domestic abuse case(s), and unflinchingly booked Reza Madadi a fight the moment he was released from prison for his role in an aggravated burglary. If Charles Barkley doesn’t have to be a role model to play basketball, then Jon Jones sure as Hell doesn’t have to pass basic decency standards to bash someone’s head in.
As such, the UFC has decided in their infinite wisdom that today, just 6 months after Jones was involved in said hit-and-run and just a third of the way into the 18-month probation he was sentenced to, would be a great day to officially end his suspension.
Details after the jump.
“We’ve made it clear to Jon that this new opportunity to compete in UFC is a privilege and not a right, and that there are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward,” said Lorenzo Fertitta. “We’re happy to read and see reports that he has embraced the terms of his plea agreement and is using this experience to grow and develop as a person.”
I mean, what was the UFC brass supposed to do, book new champ Daniel Cormier against Ryan Bader?!! Ew, you guys. Just ew. The 205 pound division needs its champion, we need its champion, and we don’t give a sh*t how many times he commits a heinous act, or whether or not the victims of his heinous acts are still nursing their wounds. HE IS A GREAT FIGHTER, and thusly, he deserves to fight for our entertainment at any cost.
It’s called separating the person from the professional, which is why Woody Allen gets to keep making as many films as he wants no matter how many children he diddles. Or why we’ve all grown so fond of convicted rapist Mike Tyson. Grow up, you guys. Any attempts to call Jones out for being a reprehensible asshole who has screwed up too many times to receive forgiveness/UFC employment will be met with a firm noogie.
Glad that’s settled. Now let’s hear what the champ has to say (via Jones’ Facebook):
I am grateful for the opportunity to resume my career and I am excited to show how much I’ve grown as a person outside of the octagon. It took me losing almost everything I had worked for to realize how much I had. I am blessed and humbled by the continued support of the MMA community and I can’t thank my fans enough for their unwavering support through my ups and downs. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life and my career and let me assure you, the best is yet to come.
“The best is yet to come.”
Oh my God, you guys. Jon Jones is going to KILL SOMEONE the next time he gets behind the wheel.
The post UFC Reinstates Jon Jones a Mere Six Months After His Hit-and-Run Accident appeared first on Cagepotato.