The UFC light heavyweight championship is now a vacant title as the organization has stripped Jon Jones of his title following his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run in New Mexico over the weekend.
In addition, the promotion has indefintely suspended Jones and the vacant title will be on the line in the main event of UFC 187 as Anthony Johnson meets Daniel Cormier.
The decision made by the UFC was announced by UFC President Dana White on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday evening and the promotion released a statement on Jones.
“UFC announced that it has suspended Jon Jones indefinitely and stripped him of the light heavyweight title as a result of violations of the organization’s Athlete Code of Conduct Policy,” the UFC statement said. “Jones was recently arrested in Albuquerque, N.M. on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury. 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 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.”
“With this decision, UFC has determined that No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson will now fight No. 3 contender Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Jones was in a court room in New Mexico after being booked yesterday on a felony count of leaving a scene of an accident involving death or personal injuries. At this time, Jones has not been indicted and that decision is in the hands of the district attorney.
Prior to the announcement being made by White, Jones sent out a tweet and issued an apologize to everyone he let down.
Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I’ve let down.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) April 29, 2015
UFC 187 will come from the MGM Grand Garden Arena and along with the vacant light heavyweight title bout, the May 23rd card will also see Chris Weidman defending the UFC middleweight title against Vitor Belfort.
The current UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier fight card is below.
Main Card: (PPV – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Anthony Johnson (19-4) vs. Daniel Cormier (15-1)
Chris Weidman (12-0) vs. Vitor Belfort (24-10)
Donald Cerrone (27-6, 1NC) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0)
Travis Browne (17-2-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (23-10, 1NC)
Joseph Benavidez (21-4) vs. John Moraga (16-3)
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1 – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
John Dodson (16-6) vs. Zach Makovsky (19-5)
Dong Hyun Kim (19-3-1, 1NC) vs. Josh Burkman (27-11)
Uriah Hall (10-4) vs. Rafael Natal (19-6-1)
Rose Namajunas (2-2) vs. Nina Ansaroff (6-4)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Sean Spencer (12-4) vs. Mike Pyle (26-10-1)
Islam Makhachev (11-0) vs. Leo Kuntz (17-7-1)
Justin Scoggins (9-2) vs. Josh Sampo (11-4)