Yesterday afternoon, the Nevada State Athletic Commission convened to discuss a number of high priority issues. After finalizing the punishments of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, they closed out the meeting by deciding whether or not they would grant Jon Jones a license to compete against Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas.
In the end, it was decided that Jones would be granted a license on a one-fight basis, meaning his fight with Smith can go ahead as planned.
After the hearing had wrapped up, and his license had been acquired, Jon Jones addressed the room. See his impassioned closing statement at the top of this post.
”I just wanted to make a quick statement saying thank you so much,” Jones said (transcript via MMA Mania). “To USADA, to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, my team, the UFC, mainly the fans, everyone for sticking by me through this process, allowing me to say my piece, to go through this process and eventually prove my innocence.
”I’m super grateful to be back fighting in Nevada,” he continued. “Excited for March 2nd, it’s going to be a magnificent event. And just really looking forward to all the testing. Looking forward to getting back in front of the fans and putting on great fights. So guys, thank you guys, the MMA media for being here covering this. And I’ll see you at UFC 235. God bless you!”
Jon Jones last fought on December 29, in the main event of UFC 232, where he defeated his long-time rival Alexander Gustafsson to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title, which was recently vacated by Daniel Cormier. Stay tuned for further updates on his turbulent career as they emerge.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/29/2019.
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