TMZ Sports released the first video of Jon Jones to surface since he appeared before a judge for a felony hit-and-run charge.
In it he tells a small group of kids at the Boys & Girls club to work their hardest until they achieve the goals they want to achieve in life. "Know that you guys can do anything you want to do. If I did it, you guys can totally do it."
Jones has remained relatively quiet over the last few months, and seeing him perform a public service is an encouraging sign for fans hoping he makes a return to the UFC.
A few reports about Jones have leaked out over the last few months, mainly from current teammates who were asked about Jones' status. One teammate, Igor Araujo, even mentioned that Jones had to clean the gym mats when the training session was over, per Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com.
Araujo went on to tell Cruz that Jones is training every day. "He’s always joking around and laughing. I spoke with him the other day and he’s cool, being positive."
On June 29, Steven Marrocco of MMAJunkie.com reported that the prosecutor in charge of the case "lacks two key pieces of evidence to move forward: medical records for the accident’s alleged victim and dispatch reports from the Albuquerque Police Department, according to the public information officer for the Bernalillo County (N.M.) District Attorney."
Marrocco went on to report the following:
While a 60-day deadline to move forward on Jones’ case expires today, the prosecutor can still pursue charges against him. If the prosecutor’s office had met the deadline, the case would have gone before a grand jury, which would then decide whether or not to indict him and proceed with a criminal trial.
District Attorney PIO Kayla Anderson emailed MMAjunkie.com the following key info, per Marrocco: “We have requested both pieces of outstanding evidence and anticipate moving forward when we have a completed case investigation.”
It's anyone's guess as to how the court proceedings will play out. The district attorney could push for a felony conviction or plea it down to a misdemeanor with a deal.
Jail time is certainly possible, but it seems unlikely given how we've seen other high-profile cases with famous athletes turn out. It all comes down to how the district attorney wants to play it and how strongly the prosecution feels its case is.
It will be interesting to see if and when Jones comes back to the UFC.
Back in May, Jones' manager, Malki Kawa, told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting.com) that Jones would "take the time to do whatever he's gotta do. And if it's the last time we've seen him fight, it's the last time we've seen him fight. And I'm OK with that."
If Jones does in fact retire from the sport at just 28 years old, he will still go down as one of the all-time greats to have competed inside the MMA cage.
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