FILE – Jon Jones walks to his corner in between rounds against Dominick Reyes in their UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout during UFC 247 at Toyota Center on February 08, 2020 in Houston, Texas. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
UFC star Jon Jones was arrested Friday in Las Vegas and charged with two counts, including misdemeanor battery domestic violence.
He was being held on $8,000 total bond and was scheduled for a court appearance Saturday. The second charge is injuring or tampering with a vehicle.
Jones, 34, was arrested Friday at 5:45 a.m. local time at a resort near Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, ESPN reported. He was in the city for the ceremony marking the induction of his first fight with Alexander Gustafsson in 2013 into the UFC Hall of Fame.
“The facts are still developing, we really don’t know yet the full story so I’m not going to make any comment until I have a chance to talk to Jon and until we see how this plays out,” Jones adviser Richard Schaefer told ESPN.
This is not the first brush with trouble for Jones. He has two failed drug tests and has at least three prior arrests: driving while intoxicated in 2012, hit and run in 2015 and battery in July 2019.
Jones’ record is 26-1-0, with his only UFC loss coming in 2009 to Matt Hamill in a disqualification that remains controversial. He last fought at UFC 247 in February 2020, defeating Dominick Reyes.
Considered the greatest light heavyweight fighter in history, Jones said Thursday prior to the Hall of Fame ceremony that he wants his next bout to be as a heavyweight. He told ESPN that he now weighs 255 pounds and is targeting 270 as his ideal weight.
He is eyeing a fight against the winner of an upcoming bout between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. The date has not been made public.
“I want the belt, really. I want the belt, I want big money,” he said.