UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has entered a plea of “not guilty” to two misdemeanour charges stemming from an alleged incident involving two anti-doping officers, according to the Bernalillo County Court Public Information Officer.
Jones and his attorney, Christopher Dodd, appeared on Wednesday morning for a bond arraignment hearing at Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on misdemeanour charges of assault and interference with communications where the plea was entered.
Following the hearing, Jones was released on his own recognizance with court-imposed conditions that he not violate any laws, possess any dangerous firearms and consume alcohol or illicit drugs. He also must notify the court if he changes his address, maintain contact with his attorney and avoid contact with any of the alleged victims and witnesses in his case.
Crystal Martinez, who conducts drug tests on behalf of Drug Free Sport International, the entity tasked with collecting samples from athletes as part of the UFC’s anti-doping program, told police that she and a co-worker, identified as Jerome Romero in a police report, arrived at Jones’s residence in the late afternoon of March 30 to collect a urine sample from the UFC champion.
According to Martinez’s statement to police, Jones was initially cooperative but then appeared agitated when he was unable to urinate and was offered the opportunity to submit a blood test instead. Martinez said Jones then allegedly asked the agents whether they had money because he planned on suing them and then proceeded to grab Martinez's phone off the table to record a video of them while repeating that he was going to sue.
Jones subsequently released a statement on his Instagram account, saying that he was frustrated with the "unprofessionalism" of the officers but that the situation "ended friendly and amicably." He accompanied the statement with security video from his home that shows him exchanging a high-five and fist-bump with Martinez and Romero as they left.
The case will be set for a bench trial in 30-45 days, with a date still to be determined.
Jones earned the UFC heavyweight championship when he defeated Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March of 2023 for the vacant title and has not fought since after suffering a torn pectoral tendon. He already was 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 victory over Daniel Cormier turned into a no-contest after another drug test came up positive. Jones argued later that he would have passed under standards that were revised in 2019 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which changed the criteria for what constituted a positive test.
Jones is expected to face former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic later this year.
— With files from The Associated Press
