UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has taken a step toward resolving his legal issues.

On Nolan King by MMA Junkie, a New Mexico judge ruled that Jones’ assault charge will be dismissed if he completes four hours of anger management and abides by the law for 90 days as part of his plea deal.

After the decision was made, Jones took to social media to express his gratitude that the situation will be resolved in time for his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 309 on November 16 when he defends his title against former champion Stipe . Miocic:

Jones was with the face a misdemeanor charge of interference with communications and a misdemeanor charge of assault stemming from a drug test at his home in New Mexico, where testers accused him of being hostile.

Jones denied the allegations when they were first made public earlier this year.

“I was recently visited by testers while celebrating a birthday and taking a nap,” he he wrote in a social media post. “Upon awakening, I was surprised with the unprofessionalism and protocol of one of the testers, which caused frustration, causing me to use some profanity that I regret.

“However, I want to emphasize that at no time did I threaten, get in anyone’s face, raise my voice in front of anyone, or engage in any form of aggression. It is unfortunate that fake news was spread without proper fact-checking. I want to assure you that I will vigorously defend myself against these baseless allegations. The truth is that the incident simply did not happen.

Jones has not fought since defeating Cyril Gane to win the vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285 in March 2023. He suffered a torn labrum in training and the UFC crowned interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall , in his absence.

If Jones is successful against Miocic, many wonder if he will retire or face Aspinall in a title unification fight.