Dana White: Jon Jones will get immediate title shot if and when he returns to the UFC
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones still has a long legal road ahead of him, but once he navigates his life outside the Octagon, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as far as his fighting career.
Jones is on indefinite suspension after being arrested on felony charges, accused of running a red light and slamming his rental car into two different vehicles before fleeing the scene. One of the drivers suffered a broken arm and wrist, which turned the potential misdemeanor into a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
While Jones is still awaiting word on his court date and potential charges stemming from the accident, his light heavyweight title goes up for grabs this weekend at UFC 187, with Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson vying for the belt.
The good news for Jones is if he can get everything sorted out in his personal life and he wants to continue fighting, the UFC will grant him an automatic title shot as soon as he returns.
"He comes right back and fights for the title," UFC president Dana White told Jim Rome on Wednesday. "He hasn't had the time that Anderson Silva's had, but he's the most dominant champion. If you look at the murderer's row of the 205-pound division that he went through, and he went through it like a hot knife through butter. He's the man.
"Whenever he gets his stuff together, he'd come right back and fight for the title."
The lingering question, unfortunately, is whether Jones will have his legal issues sorted out any time soon.
Jones could face up to three years in jail if he's found guilty, plus there's the potential of a civil suit that is looming overhead as well, according to White.
Once all that is settled and Jones has proved that he's got his life back on track and that these kinds of incidents won't happen again, White will gladly welcome him back to the promotion.
"Obviously he's been stripped of the title, he's not fighting anymore, and he's got these legal issues he's got to deal with. ... So I don't know how this thing's going to play out; we'll see how it goes," White revealed.
"He's got these legal issues and he's got a civil suit against him and all this other stuff. So we'll see how he gets through this and then find out where his head is. How does he handle himself through this situation and after it. I've gotta see from him that he's doing the right thing."
So Jones can rest easy knowing that if he returns to fighting he'll have a title shot awaiting him, but as of now there's no timetable on how long he might be out.
As of now, Albuquerque prosecutors still haven't taken Jones' case to the grand jury to officially indict him in the accident, but they have 60 days from the date of his arrest, April 28, to file charges.
