Well, it’s happened again. Jon Jones and his car have once again got into trouble, as today both he and the Albuquerque police department (separately) revealed that Jones was the recipient of five tickets last week after being pulled over for drag racing.
Jones completely denies the charges, appearing on MMAFighting’s MMA Hour today to release his side of the information before the media had attained wind via the police department. That seems to be a wry decision, as just hours after his statement, TMZ acquired video of the traffic stop from a police camera.
The footage shows Jones clearly upset and angered at being pulled over, repeatedly denying his drag racing in a 35-mph area.
Instead, what Jones says happened is he was on his way home from a dinner, and stopped at a red light next to some fans. Not fancying a chat, Jones says he jokingly revved his Corvette engine to entertain the fans. Jones says the light went green, and the car moved forward and instantly he was being pulled over.
After things between he and the officer went poorly, Jones says he received five tickets.
How poorly exactly?
“I definitely wasn’t drag racing,” Jones said. “I got emotional and said some things that I probably shouldn’t have said to a police officer.”
After TMZ released their video this afternoon, it was evident to all.
Jones is shown on camera repeatedly calling the police officer a “fucking liar,” amongst other things.
The reasoning behind Jones’s quickness to talk to the media is due to his exceptionally poor record behind the wheel of a car.
Earlier this year, news broke of Jones conducting a traffic violation, but such issues were quickly quelled after it became apparent that the entire thing was a minor infraction (not being able to present his license after being pulled over).
The problem is, that Jones is currently on probation after an infamous hit and run after running a red light, which resulted in a pregnant woman breaking her arm. After the incident earlier this year, the judge stated that his ticket wouldn’t affect his probation, but warned him not to get any more for 90 days.
Jones has also been arrested for suspicion of a DUI.
Now, Jones will once again go to court, and is due to appear on April 5.
Currently, Jones is scheduled to rematch his bitter rival Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight championship. The bout will be Jones’s first fight since the UFC suspended him following the hit-and-run.
Today, the Albuquerque Police Department has stated that Jones was ticketed for drag racing, an ordinance against a modified exhaust, an illegible license plate, unable to maintain a traffic lane and exhibition driving.
Talking on the MMA Hour, Jones denied that he felt the police in Albuquerque had it out for him.
“I actually have a lot of friends in the department,” Jones said. “I doubt that’s the case. I just think this officer in particular was looking for a DWI or something. He was trying to stick with me one of those and once he realized I was sober, I don’t know if he was in a bad mood or whatever, but he was definitely confrontational.
“He needed something to justify pulling me over. He fabricated the whole thing that I was drag racing.”
Realising that his history makes the name “Jones” and “Driving” a hot commodity amongst media types, Jones wanted to make sure he got his side of the story out before it became public knowledge. He intends to focus on his bout with Cormier, and trusts his manager and assistants will handle the driving problem in the meantime.
In light of the news, the UFC released a statement, saying: “We are aware of the situation and are looking into the matter, we’ve also been in touch with Jon’s team regarding the matter.”
Here is the video from the Albuquerque police:
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