Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Jon Jones has
received little more than a slap on the wrist for his latest legal
entanglement from September.
First reported by
TMZ on Thursday, Jones has accepted a plea deal with the
prosecutors that will allow him to avoid any jail time. The
oft-maligned light heavyweight has pleaded nolo contendere – no
contest, which means that the defendant will not contest the charge
but will not be admitting guilt – to the charge of a misdemeanor
destruction of property damaging something valued between $25 and
$250.
As a result, the prosecutors have dismissed the charge of domestic
violence against him. Jones will be required to pay $750 in
restitution to the victim, seek counseling for anger management,
and “has been ordered to stay out of trouble.” Initially, the
charge of tampering with a vehicle rose to the level of a felony as
the damaged was assessed above $5,000, as Jones
allegedly headbutted a police car according to the court
records. His charge of battery domestic violence has been dropped
as part of the plea deal, which stemmed from an unseen incident
between Jones and his fiancée, Jessie Moses.
Since the arrest, Jones has
claimed that he will stop drinking alcohol altogether. He also
plans on making a comeback to the sport,
recently stating he is intending on competing again either in
April or July. Should this take place, it will be without the full
support of his team Jackson-Wink MMA, as coach Mike Winkeljohn has
ejected Jones from the camp.