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Jon Jones recently had a tryst with the wrong side of the law once again last week when he was arrested under the charges of DWI, negligent use of firearms and two others.
Jones went on to plead 'no contest' and admitted a subsequent sentence of having an 'unhealthy relationship with alcohol'. Following his arrest, many urged UFC to take a step about the Light Heavyweight Champion, and some of his fellow fighters even wanted the belt stripped.
Bantamweight Aljamain Sterling, however, does not think the promotion should get involved in Jones' personal matters, according to what he said on Bloody Elbow's Crooklyn's Corner podcast.
Sterling thinks UFC should stay put
After the news of Jones' arrest broke, Light Heavyweight contenders like Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes urged UFC to vacate the title and allow them to fight for it. But Sterling believes the promotion should approach it with a hands-off approach rather than treating it as a reprimand or punishment situation.
At no point is Sterling defending Jones' actions, but he thinks UFC giving him an ultimatum is not the way to go.
"I don’t think it’s the UFC’s place to tell another grown individual how to conduct themselves. I mean, you can set rubrics – like a standard, a code of conduct thing – I get that. But, I think at this point, to kind of use him as a scapegoat—and again, I’m not looking to give him a pass on any of his past, or even current, behaviors. But, at the end of the day, his job is to go in there and fight. If he’s going outside of his work duties, and he’s doing stupid shit like this—like getting DWIs and the gun negligence and stuff like that? That’s an issue, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily their place to go in and tell him, ‘Hey, you have to get rehab or we’re going to strip you of the belt."
According to Sterling, there has to be a fine line that should not be crossed unless it is necessary. He said that if UFC takes a harsh step for Jones, then they set the bar for everyone going forward. In that case, they will have to do something about other accused individuals, such as Conor McGregor.
"And I’m not saying let’s wait until he kills somebody, because that’s completely wrong also, but I think there’s gotta be a fine line. That’s a very delicate situation. Like, once you go down that path, you kinda set that precedent for everybody going forward. Because if that’s the case, then what about Conor McGregor who punched an old man!? You can’t say something about [Jon Jones], and then not say something about that."
According to reports, the charges of open container and firearms negligence will be dropped against the guilty plead to the DWI charge. It would mean a $500 fine, 96 hours of house arrest, and 48 hours of community service. He is also to be placed under one-year probation as per reports by ESPN and will need to take a breathalyzer test every time he starts his car by default. A device has been set in his vehicle to accomplish the same.
