The UFC's decision to strip Jon Jones of its light heavyweight championship, and to suspend him indefinitely, was one of the more difficult and gut-wrenching decisions it's made since Zuffa purchased the promotion in January 2001.
It was also one of the best.
Stripping Jones of the championship and putting him on the sidelines is the kind of decision that grown-up sports leagues make. The UFC is not the same as the NFL, because combat sports is not the same as football. But Roger Goodell's handling of the cases of Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson provided a perfect template for the UFC, because the UFC wants to be seen as a mainstream brand like the NFL.