Jon Jones Stripped of UFC Title, Suspended Indefinitely

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Jon Jones is no longer UFC light heavyweight champion.

The Las Vegas-based organization Tuesday announced that 27-year-old Jones has been stripped of his 205-pound title, removed from the main event of UFC 187 and suspended indefinitely. The move comes following Jones’ arrest on Monday for a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury in Albuquerque, N.M.

“As a result of the charge and other violations of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy, the organization believes it is best to allow Jones time to focus on his pending legal matters,” UFC said in a statement!

“UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon. While there is disappointment in the recent charges, the organization remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process.”

Jones made his first court appearance at Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Tuesday but entered no plea. A second court date has yet to be scheduled.

Jones captured the UFC light heavyweight belt in 2011 with a third-round stoppage of Mauricio Rua. The Jackson-Wink MMA product defended the title a record eight times, defeating such world-ranked opponents as Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Daniel Cormier. The New York native owns a 21-1 record inside the cage, his only loss coming in a 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill.

Former opponent Cormier will replace Jones at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas. Cormier will fight Anthony Johnson for the now-vacant title.

Jones broke his silence on Tuesday evening with a brief post on Twitter.

“Got a lot of soul searching to do,” he wrote. “Sorry to everyone I’ve let down.”