UFC heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones has been charged with assault and interference with communications after an incident with a drug testing agent.
The charges, which are both misdemeanors, came after Crystal Martinez, a drug testing agent for Drug Free Sport, claimed Jones assaulted her while she was collecting a sample for his company, a partner in the UFC's anti-doping program, on March 30.
Martinez alleges that, along with her partner, Jones said she was unable to provide a urine sample after attempting to do so. However, when she suggested a blood test instead, Jones became irritated and grabbed her cell phone and began recording her.
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Jon Jones stands in his corner before his light heavyweight championship fight during UFC 247 at Toyota Center on February 8, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Martinez alleges that Jones appeared to be intoxicated during the incident, when he said that people who come to his house “end up dead.”
If convicted on both charges, Jones could face less than a year in prison and fines.
Jones, 36, addressed the incident after it occurred earlier this year.
JON JONES MAKES A TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO UFC AND WINS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE WITH A WIN OVER CIRYL GANE
“I want to clarify that there is a video showing both drug testers leaving my home after the testing session, where we exchanged a wave and a hug,” Jones wrote on social media. “While I was frustrated by the lack of professionalism and used profanity out of frustration, it ended in a friendly and amicable manner, with nothing threatening. I was actually having a friend's birthday party at my house and I think it's perfectly normal to celebrate in the comfort of my own home.
“I must say that this particular examiner behaved in an unprofessional manner and even violated standard HIPAA protocol. In the 20 years I have been drug tested, I have never before encountered a DCO officer who experienced such an incident.”
While Jones has been arguably the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artist to ever step foot in the UFC Octagon, he has had his share of troubles outside of his sport.
In September 2021, he was charged with domestic battery after allegedly hitting his fiancée. Jones also headbutted a patrol car after police pulled him over in that incident. The charges were later dropped, though he pleaded guilty to tampering with a police vehicle.
Jon Jones reacts to his victory in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
A year earlier, Jones was arrested for driving under the influence after a police officer responded to a gunshot and found him in his car with an open bottle of alcohol and a gun.
Jones would later accept a plea deal to reduce charges of aggravated drunken driving, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container and driving without proof of insurance to just drunken driving. He was placed on supervised probation.
Jones has also failed a drug test in the past, as he was found to have used two banned substances in July 2016. The UFC was forced to pull him from the UFC 200 card.
However, USADA later discovered that Jones had taken a contaminated packet of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis and was unaware that it contained banned substances. Still, the UFC suspended him for a year and stripped him of his interim light heavyweight title.
Jones remains active in the sport today, although he has been dealing with a torn pectoral muscle he suffered last year while training.
Jon Jones (red gloves) before his fight against Thiago Santos (not pictured) at T-Mobile Arena. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
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As he attempts to make his return to the Octagon, Britain's Tom Aspinall holds the interim heavyweight championship title and is set to defend it on July 27 against Curtis Blaydes.
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