UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from an encounter with a “terrified” drug test sample collector earlier this year.
Jones has been charged with assault and interfering with communications, according to Bernadillo County (NM) online records, and is scheduled for a virtual bond hearing this Wednesday, July 17, at 9:15 a.m. local time (11:15 a.m. ET east). MMA fight was first to report the news on Monday.
Jones could face a prison sentence of less than a year and a fine of up to $500 for the misdemeanor battery and up to $1,000 for the misdemeanor interference with communications if convicted.
Charges against Jones were filed more than three months later the alleged incident occurred on March 30 when an employee from Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) visited Jones’ Albuquerque home to collect a urine sample.
According to an initial report filed with the Albuquerque Police Department, the employee said Jones was cooperative at first but eventually became verbally combative after struggling to provide a urine sample, prompting her to suggest a urine sample. blood. Jones then threatened to sue, took his phone and recorded the workers on video. The worker added that she believed Jones was intoxicated because he smelled of alcohol.
The worker alleges that Jones put her phone in her pocket, “smacked her in the face” and said, “Why are you bastards coming so early? Do you know what happens to people who come to my house? They end up dead. According to the police report, the worker was “terrified”, “afraid” and “felt her heart pounding” after Jones’ veiled death threat.
Jones quickly denied the allegations after reports of the incident emerged and shared home surveillance video appeared to show an exchange of greetings with the worker.
Jones, who turns 37 on July 19, is in the midst of a long layoff, having not competed since March 2023, when he won the vacant UFC heavyweight title with a first-round submission over Ciryl Gane. Jones was supposed to defend his belt against former champion Stipe Miocic last November at UFC 295, but the fight fell through three weeks after Jones tore his pectoral tendon during training.
Jones vs. Miocic is expected to be rescheduled and headline UFC 309 in November at Madison Square Garden in New York.
