Jon Jones charged over incident with drug tester

Mar 4, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Jon Jones holds his championship belt during a press conference prior to weigh-ins for UFC 196 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Jon Jones has been charged over an incident with a drug tester that took place in late March.

Two drug testers from Drug Free Sport went to Jones’ home on March 30 to collect a random specimen sample from Jones as part of the UFC’s anti-droping program.

A woman who was one of two officials trying to collect the sample reported feeling “terrified” by Jones during the experience, as the fighter had trouble urinating. She claimed he threatened her and even took her cell phone and recorded her. The woman filed a police report on April 5. You can read more about the matter here.

Jones has been charged with two misdemeanors in the case, one for assault and the other for interference with communications. The assault charge is regarded as a petty misdemeanor and the interference with communications is a misdemeanor.

Jones has a hearing set for July 17 in New Mexico during which time he will be able to enter a plea.

Jones addressed the allegations in an April 7 post made on X.

“I was recently visited by testers while I was celebrating a birthday and taking a nap. Upon waking up, I was caught off guard by the unprofessionalism and protocol by one of the testers which caused frustration leading me to use some profanity I regret. However, I want to emphasize that at no point did I threaten , get in anyone’s face , raise my voice to anyone or engage in any form of assault. It’s unfortunate that false news has been spread without proper fact-checking. I want to assure you that I will vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations. The truth is, the incident simply did not occur,” Jones said at the time.

The 36-year-old faces less than a year of jail time if convicted of both crimes, as well as fines that would total under $1,500. Jones is 27-1 with one no contest in his professional MMA career. He has been both a UFC Heavyweight and UFC Lightweight champion during his career.