So do you remember The Proverbial Giant Light Heavyweight Elephant in the Room (PGLHWEITR?)? Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is officially has been reinstated by the UFC!

If you’ve been living under a rock

After Jones’ title defense against Daniel Cormier (Current Light Heavyweight Champ), it was revealed that he tested positive for cocaine. Not a good look.

Fast forward to April where Jones was charged with a felony Hit-and-Run. Jones was accused of running a red light back on April 26 and fleeing the scene of a three-car accident. Witnesses saw him leave the scene on foot before returning to retrieve something from his vehicle. A pregnant woman was treated for broken arm after the crash, and police reportedly found marijuana in Jones’ car… Once again, not a good look.

Couple this with his DUI arrest in 2012, and his Instagram stupidity, the UFC finally smartened up and realized that they cannot have this guy be the face of their company and as World Champ, so they stripped him of the title and suspended him indefinitely. In his absence, Daniel Cormier (the same Daniel Cormier that Jones defeated in January) won the vacant title and defended it in the fight of the year.

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said in a statement:

“We’ve made it clear to Jon that this new opportunity to compete in UFC is a privilege and not a right, and that there are significant expectations we have regarding his conduct moving forward. We’re happy to read and see reports that he has embraced the terms of his plea agreement and is using this experience to grow and develop as a person.”

Jones posted the following statement on Facebook:

“I am grateful for the opportunity to resume my career and I am excited to show how much I’ve grown as a person outside of the octagon. It took me losing almost everything I had worked for to realize how much I had. I am blessed and humbled by the continued support of the MMA community and I can’t thank my fans enough for their unwavering support through my ups and downs. This marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life and my career and let me assure you, the best is yet to come.”

Daniel Cormier weighed in on the decision, via Facebook:

“Congrats to Jon ‘Bones’ Jones on his reinstatement to the UFC. For MMA fans this is a good day. A guy that has shown to be one of the greatest fighters of all time is back. As a competitor there could be no other outcome and this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Jon has said the right things and his actions are backing his words up. We all hope this is the last time we have to deal with anything like that. And lastly as a fan (you) get to see see (two) of the best fighters compete against each other. With that being said I can’t wait to compete against him again.”

My reaction: Strong words from the former champ.

But unless Jones can go an entire year without doing something stupid (like cocaine), I’ll reserve judgment.

As I am typing this, Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” is playing on an endless loop in my head. And I am about 98.9842394% certain that the UFC is thinking the same thing. With the UFC hoping to have its first event in New York in April 2016, it only makes sense to have Jones return and face Daniel Cormier for the title that Jones never lost. In arguably the UFCs weakest division outside of the top 5 fighters (Jones, Cormier, Johnson, Gustafsson, Bader), the division got a much-needed kick in the face.

DOLLA DOLLA BILLS Y’ALL!!!!