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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones appeared in a Binghamton, New York, court again on Tuesday morning, and received another extension to his sentencing for misdemeanor DWI. Jones was arrested on May 19 after crashing his Bentley into a light pole in Binghamton.
He came to a plea agreement last month on the charge, but on Tuesday requested and was granted an extension of sentencing to July 31, giving him more time to complete a court-mandated drug and alcohol evaluation, according to a report from PressConnects.com.
Jones released a statement following Tuesday's court appearance, addressing the ongoing process that has resulted from the arrest.
"Mr. Jones wishes to express the following to his fans, friends, and, most of all, his family: By pleading guilty on May 29, Mr. Jones accepted responsibility for his actions," the statement reads. "This process has been a learning experience for this young man. He is remorseful for his conduct, but thankful for the opportunity to accept responsibility and to grow as a person. This experience has motivated Mr. Jones to achieve his maximum potential both professionally and personally."
The Champ will return to action on September 1 at UFC 151, taking on Dan Henderson in his fourth Title defense.
Penick's Analysis: This is still normal procedure for situations like this; hearings get delayed often, and as the plea agreement has already been reached this is just about Jones taking care of his required evaluation. He just needs to get it scheduled and taken care of, and hopefully that's something he does in quick fashion now that he's gotten another extension. A couple of extensions isn't a big deal, but the court could take issue with Jones if he continues to delay things by not taking care of his end of the deal.
[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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