This comes after the 27-year-old Jones turned himself in to Albuquerque authorities on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury.
"As a result of the charge and other violations of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy, the organization believes it is best to allow Jones time to focus on his pending legal matters," the UFC said.
"UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon," it added.
The UFC said it was disappointed but "remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process."
Jones was supposed to defend his light heavyweight belt against Anthony Johnson on May 23 in the main event of UFC 187.
Daniel Cormier – whom Jones beat earlier this year – will replace him in the main event.
Jones made his first appearance at the San Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court on Tuesday and was released on a bail continuance, MMA Fighting reported.
It is the latest issue to hound Jones, who failed a drug test ahead of his UFC 182 bout against Cormier, when traces of the primary metabolite for cocaine were found in his system. He entered a rehabilitation center but stayed for only one night; the UFC fined him $25,000 for violating the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy.
Jones apologized to fans on Twitter, saying: "Got a lot of soul searching to do. Sorry to everyone I've let down."
Jones, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, won the light-heavyweight title on March 19, 2011, beating Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He has defended the belt eight times.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
