MMA fighter Jon “Bones” Jones has been charged with battery, according to a criminal summons filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in New Mexico.
The alleged incident took place in April when a cocktail waitress at a strip club said Jones slapped her in her genital area and put her in a chokehold, according to the summons.
The star fighter says he didn’t know about the charges until Sunday when a local news station contacted him, according to Jones’ representative Denise White.
“Yesterday Jon Jones became aware of a false accusation made against him through a local news outlet and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee at which time the warrant was lifted,” White said in a statement.
Jones fights in the UFC. CNN reached out to UFC, but the organization declined to comment.
Court records show a criminal complaint was filed on May 23 and Albuquerque police sent a letter to Jones, but it was returned in June. A failure to appear arrest warrant was issued for Jones on June 12 and a cash bond was posted on Sunday and the warrant was lifted.
“We are confident that Jon will be cleared from any and all charges and this will be seen for what is, a baseless claim,” White said.
‘l just don’t want to deal with this person’
According to the summons, the waitress told an officer she was serving Jones and his brother on April 19.
She said Jones was being persistent about her giving him a table dance, but she told him cocktail waitresses weren’t able to give dances.
The woman said Jones eventually pulled her onto his lap and began kissing her neck, according to the summons.
At this point, the summons says the woman “did not know if Jon Jones was committing a crime by kissing on her neck and did not know what to do.”
The summons says later that night the woman said Jones was waiting for some drinks and put her in a chokehold. The summons goes on to say Jones started “roughhousing” with the woman and picked her up, holding her in the air.
The summons said the woman “did not know how to feel, but felt it was like a wrestling match and nothing sexual.” The woman told the officer she did not like that she was held in the air for a long time.
The woman told the officer Jones placed her down by the bar and slapped her in the genital area and continued to touch her until he left the strip club.
In the summons, the officer wrote that the woman became frantic in telling the story.
“l just don’t want to deal with this person,” she said. “The whole situation is so complicated and I’m not really sure what to say and this person gets away with f*****g everything.”
‘I’m definitely not in any trouble’
Jones reacted to the accusations and charges on social media Monday.
“I’m definitely not in any trouble my friend, don’t be so quick to believe everything you read on the Internet,” he said on Twitter in response to someone saying he was in trouble again.
“I know there’s a whole bunch of people hoping for my downfall but there’s even more who are proud of me and love seeing me do well. And screw staying inside, I love this community.. excited to keep climbing, haters going to be mad when I win in December,” Jones tweeted moments later in response to someone saying he should stay inside.
Jones is no stranger to trouble, though. In 2015, he was stripped of his light-heavyweight championship and suspended indefinitely after turning himself in for a hit-and-run. He later pled guilty to leaving the scene of accident and was sentenced to 18 months probation.
That same year in January, Jones tested positive for cocaine in a test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Because the test was done out of competition, the commission could not punish him. The UFC fined him $250,000 and he entered a drug rehabilitation center but left the facility after one day of treatment.
In July 2016, Jones was dropped from a headline bout after a “potential anti-doping violation,” according to the UFC. He was later suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for one year after it was revealed that he had tested positive for two banned substances. The doping agency conducts the UFC’s drug testing program.
The anti-doping agency suspended Jones a second time for 15 months between July 2017 and October 2018 after he tested positive for an anabolic steroid.
Jones became the youngest UFC champion when he claimed the light-heavyweight title in 2011 at the age of 23. He has since been one of the UFC’s biggest stars who helped propel mixed martial arts into the American mainstream.
The fighter is 25-1-0 currently, winning his most recent bout on July 6 against Thiago Santos, according to the UFC.
