Jon Jones fights charges stemming from alleged hostility during a drug test at his home

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two misdemeanor charges stemming from a drug test at his New Mexico home in which he was accused of being hostile.

Jones appeared seated next to his attorney as pleas were entered on his behalf during a virtual hearing. An Albuquerque judge granted his attorney’s request that Jones remain free pending trial on charges of assault and interference with communications in connection with the March testing session.

Jones vowed to fight the allegations. When the accusations became public, he called them unfounded, posting on social media that he had been blindsided by what he called a lack of professionalism from one of the testers and acknowledged the name-calling after becoming frustrated.

“However, I want to emphasize that at no point did I threaten, confront anyone, raise my voice to anyone or engage in any form of aggression,” Jones said in a social media post.

Considered one of the best MMA fighters, Jones won the heavyweight title over a year ago, with a first-round submission over Ciryl Gane. It was Jones’ first fight in three years and his first in the heavyweight division. He was already the best light heavyweight by winning a record 14 title fights.

Jones was suspended for a year in 2016 for a failed drug test and had his 2017 win over Daniel Cormier turned into a no contest after another drug test came back positive. Jones later argued that he would have passed standards that were revised in 2019 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which changed the criteria for what constituted a positive test.

A woman who worked for Drug Free Sport International, which carries out testing for professional athletes, initially filed a complaint with police in April. She accused Jones of threatening her, taking her phone and swearing at her while she and a colleague were at Jones’ home for a drug test.

A criminal complaint states that the woman described Jones as cooperative at first, but that he became agitated.

Jones told police he thought it was his phone he answered and that he apologized for swearing at the woman and her co-worker at the end of the test. He posted a video from what appears to be a home camera system showing the woman greeting him before leaving. He said neither appeared frightened during the interaction.