Embattled UFC star Jon Jones avoids jail time on traffic charges

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones avoided serious penalties for a traffic incident in which the fighter was caught on tape in a heated verbal altercation with a police officer.

Jones pled guilty to illegally modifying his exhaust system and improper display of a license plate on Thursday in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He was fined $143 and be required to perform 60 hours of community service. Jones will also have to attend driving school and stay out of trouble for three months in order to avoid a serving a 90-day jail sentence, which was deferred.

Jones was originally cited for allegedly drag racing, unlawful exhibition driving and failure to maintain traffic lane when he was stopped in March. The fighter claimed he simply revved his engine back at fans who had acknowledged him at a stoplight.

Video of the stop showed an irate Jones calling the officer an “(expletive) pig,” among other derogatory comments.

With that matter out of the way, Jones can turn his attention to fighting the lengthy suspensions he faces from the United States Anti-Doping Agency and Nevada Athletic Commission.

Jones was pulled from the historic UFC 200 event at T-Mobile Arena just three nights before the July 9 card when it was revealed he failed an out-of-competition test for two anti-estrogenic substances on the prohibited list. Jones faces a potential suspension of two years on the matter.

The troubled star, widely considered the best fighter in UFC history, has had his fair share of trouble outside the cage as well.

He was arrested on DUI charges in 2012 and pled guilty after driving his Bentley into a telephone pole in New York. He was stripped of his UFC title in April 2015 after he was arrested for fleeing the scene of an accident in Albuquerque. Jones was sentenced to 18 months probation and community service in that case.

A judge previously ruled the March traffic incident did not constitute a violation of that probation.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.