4/7/24: Police Investigating Jon Jones For Allegedly Threatening Drug Testing Employees
Also: Reports from Saturday's UFC, KSW and Cage Warriors cards
Welcome to a Sunday edition of the Knockdown Daily. Today’s issue has reports on three different MMA events from yesterday, plus two other stories from around the sport. We have quite a bit for you you dig into as the weekend comes to a close. Let’s get started!
Albuquerque Police Investigating Jon Jones For Allegedly Threatening Drug Testing Employees
Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA are investigating an allegation that UFC Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones assaulted and interfered with the communications of an employee from the anti-doping company Drug Free Sport International.
A report filed Friday details allegations from a drug testing agent who wants to pursue charges against Jones following an incident at the fighter’s residence. The police report was first uncovered by ABQ RAW. Aaron Bronsteter of Sportsnet obtained the report, which can be read here.
The Drug Free Sport employee, Crystal Martinez, arrived at Jones’ house along with a co-worker on March 30th to collect an out-of-competition drug test. Jones was willing to provide them a urine sample and went with Martinez’s co-worker into his garage to do so.
Jones and the co-worker returned from the garage after the UFC fighter allegedly failed to urinate for the test. After Martinez offered to do a blood sample instead, she says that Jones became “tense and puffed up.” She alleges that it was at this point when Jones picked up her personal phone, which was alongside her drug testing setup, and recorded her.
The video, which police said they had reviewed, allegedly showed Jones saying that the co-worker of Martinez “and his girlfriend” were in his garage.
Martinez claims that after Jones stopped recording, he made a threat. “Why you f****** people come so early, do you know what happens to people who come to my house? They end up dead,” the report states Jones allegedly said.
Martinez says she wanted to end the testing process, but was worried Jones would physically retaliate due to the repercussions fighters can face for not complying with visits from drug testers.
It was at this point that Martinez said Jones agreed to attempt a urine test once again. The attempt worked this time, but Martinez said her coworker came back looking “pale and nervous” afterward and struggled to properly package the test.
Martinez claimed she filed a report within her company but was told to hold off on filing a police report until after she spoke to UFC representatives.
The report stated that the police will issue a summons to Jones for charges of assault and interference with communications.
According to the New Mexico Legal Group, “Intentionally engaging in verbal threats or other types of conduct that cause a reasonable fear of being hurt during that moment” is one of the types of behaviour that are classified as assault.
Jones has since released a statement denying ever threatening Martinez, claiming that the encounter ended amicably.
“I want to address reports about me allegedly threatening a drug tester’s life and taking a phone,” he said via Instagram. “I want to clarify that there is a video showing both drug testers leaving my home after the testing session, where we exchanged a high five and a hug. Although I was frustrated with the unprofessionalism and used profanity out of frustration it ended friendly and amicably, nothing threatening at all.”
Jones went on to allege that Martinez breached “standard protocol along with HIPAA laws.” His Instagram post included a security camera video of him seemingly walking the drug testers off his property.
Jones' last appearance was in March 2023, submitting Ciryl Gane in the first round to win the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship. His first booked fight with the belt—a matchup against former champ Stipe Miocic last November—was cancelled after Jones suffered a torn pec.
Brendan Allen Edges Out Chris Curtis In Tense Split Decision To Avenge 2021 Loss
Brendan Allen avenged a late 2021 loss to Chris Curtis on Saturday night, although the win didn’t come easy. Allen prevailed in a hard-fought split decision result, going a total of five rounds in the main event of a card from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Allen’s win came down to the final round on one of the three official scorecards. While one judge saw him up three rounds to one by the fifth round, and another scorecard saw Curtis up with a similar total, the third deciding judge had the fight tied with just five minutes to go.
The final round was incredibly competitive for nearly the full time that it took place. Curtis picked Allen apart with boxing when the fight was on the feet. Allen aggressively searched for takedowns, briefly getting on the back of Curtis in the fourth minute.
While the round seemed to be favoring Curtis, an injury that occurred to the MMA veteran in the final moments of the fight potentially cost him the round. The injury, which Curtis’ team said they think is a torn hamstring, caused him to shell up in the closing moments of the round and endure a flurry of shots from Allen.
The middleweight bout was a close battle in the rounds prior to then. Allen had a strong opening frame, connecting with punches against an advancing Curtis, and also briefly getting on his back.
Curtis earned points on scorecards in the second, third and fourth frames, landing the better shots against Allen on the feet and doing a good job at resisting takedown attempts.
While it was a truly nail-biting performance for Allen, the fight extended his winning streak and kept his climb up the middleweight rankings alive. The 28-year-old has now picked up seven consecutive wins since 2022, including five via finish.
Allen previously faced Curtis on a “Fight Night” card in late 2021. That bout didn’t go his way, as he was stopped in the second round with strikes.
After adding another win to his streak, Allen called for a fight against current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis.
“Aint nobody got the streak like I got, doing what I’m doing,” he said during his post-fight interview. “I’m out here … Dricus [Du Plessis], you know imma whoop that a**.”
Curtis wasn’t the original opponent of Allen for this weekend. UFC previously planned to have former title challenger Marvin Vettori meet Allen in a five-round bout. But after Vettori withdrew from the fight last month, it was announced that Curtis would take his spot on short notice.
Curtis was coming off a split decision victory over Marc-Andre Barriault from UFC 297.
Damon Jackson returned to the win column in the co-main event, taking a split decision over Alexander Hernandez. Saturday’s card also featured a “Fight of the Night” bout that saw Chepe Mariscal hand former Cage Warriors titleholder Morgan Charriere his first UFC loss.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s UFC card:
Main Card (6:00PM EDT / 3:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 12: Brendan Allen def. Chris Curtis via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Damon Jackson def. Alexander Hernandez via Decision, Split
Bout 10: Chepe Mariscal def. Morgan Charriere via Decision, Split
Bout 9: Ignacio Bahamondes def. Christos Giagos via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:34)
Bout 8: Charlie Campbell def. Trevor Peek via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (3:00PM EDT / 12:00PM PDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Alex Morono def. Court McGee via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Lukasz Brzeski def. Valter Walker via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Norma Dumont def. Germaine de Randamie via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Victor Hugo def. Pedro Falcao via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Jean Matsumoto def. Dan Argueta via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 4:59)
Bout 2: Cesar Almeida def. Dylan Budka via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:13)
Bout 1: Nora Cornolle def. Melissa Tonya Mullins via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:06)
Salahdine Parnasse Stops Valeriu Mircea Early To Defend Lightweight KSW Title, Retain Double Champ Status
Salahdine Parnasse remained a two-division KSW champion this weekend, scoring a first-round finish over Valeriu Mircea to successfully defend his lightweight title for the first time.
Parnasse put Mircea away with a head kick, ending a fight that was relatively close through four minutes. Salahdine followed Mircea as he went to the canvas after connecting with the blow, landing a few ground and pound shots before the fight was stopped.
The fight headlined KSW 93, which saw Parnasse fight in front of his home country from the Adidas Arena in Paris, France.
Parnasse became an interim champion in the division just over a year ago, submitting Sebastian Rajewski with a rear naked choke. He was elevated to undisputed champ status after former titleholder Marian Ziolkowski withdrew from a fight due to an injury.
The French talent has been a long-time titleholder at featherweight, having been involved in the 145-pound division’s title scenario since 2019. Parnasse was looking this weekend to bounce back after failing to earn a title up at welterweight late last year. Saturday was also Parnasse’s first time fighting in his home country of France since joining the KSW roster in 2017.
Mircea was making a quick turnaround to face Parnasse this weekend. He earned an interim title just under two months ago, overcoming Leo Brichta with a fourth-round submission.
Wilson Varela staked his claim as the next lightweight challenger in the co-main event, beating former champ Marian Ziolkowski due to an arm injury that occurred in the second round. Ziolkowski seemingly hurt his arm after Varela blocked a right cross punch, causing the fight to end just moments later.
While the way the fight concluded wasn’t as satisfying as a three-round decision or a more typical finish, it gave Varela a win over one of the top names at lightweight.
Ziolkowski had his lightweight title run put to an end last year after pulling out of a fight due to an injury. Despite no longer being a champion by this weekend, he entered the cage on a four-fight winning streak.
Here are the quick results for KSW 93:
Main Card (1:00PM EDT / 7:00PM CEST) (KSW PPV)
Bout 9: Salahdine Parnasse def. Valeriu Mircea via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:00) (KSW Lightweight Championship)
Bout 8: Wilson Varela def. Marian Ziolkowski via TKO, Injury (RD 2, 2:31)
Bout 7: Madars Fleminas def. Artur Szczepaniak via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:07)
Bout 6: Michal Martinek def. Prince Aounallah via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:02)
Bout 5: Laid Zerhouni def. Boubacar Niakate via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:42)
Bout 4: Aymard Guih def. Francisco Barrio via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Alfan Rocher-Labes def. Kenji Bortoluzzi via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: El Hadji Ndiaye def. Nicolae Bivol via Decision, Split
Bout 1: Flore Hani def. Sandra Succar via Decision, Unanimous
James Sheehan Scores Fourth Round Submission To Earn Welterweight Cage Warriors Title
James Sheehan became the newest Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion on Saturday night, submitting Daniel Konrad in the fourth round to end a bloody war.
The welterweight title fight headlined Cage Warriors 170 from the Simmonscourt RDS in Dublin, Ireland.
Sheehan endured nearly four full rounds against an aggressive Konrad before catching him with an arm triangle choke for a submission victory. Sheehan took Konrad down with just 90 seconds to go in the fourth round, leading to the finishing sequence. He started to look for an arm triangle choke while on top, moving into side control once he got a hold of the submission. He kept pressure on the choke until Konrad went to sleep, causing the referee to stop the fight.
Konrad opened the fight as an aggressive striker, charging forward at Sheehan with quick punches. Sheehan connected with his own shots on the counter but had a significant cut opened above his right eye by the end of the first round.
Sheehan started to focus on takedowns more in the third round after fighting in close stand-up exchanges. These positions proved successful for the Irish talent, eventually causing a finish and taking scorecards out of the equation.
Saturday’s main event from Ireland made Sheehan the 17th-ever welterweight champ in Cage Warriors history, joining a lineage which includes UFC talents Ian Machago Garry and Rhys McKee. The promotion booked a vacant title fight this weekend after previous champ Giannis Bachar relinquished his belt to join the upcoming season of the UFC reality TV show “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Sheehan is a veteran of Cage Warriors, having fought for the promotion nine times in the past. He came into this weekend following a win over Olli Santalahti from last October.
Konrad, a Swiss prospect, was coming over to Cage Warriors after a seven-fight run on the regional scene. All six of his past wins have come via finish, and Saturday marked the first time in his career that he went more than three rounds into a fight.
Former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Paul Hughes was successful in the co-main event, defeating short-notice opponent Fabiano Silva via first-round stoppage.
Here are the results from Cage Warriors 170:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM IST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 14: James Sheehan def. Daniel Konrad via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 4, 4:27) (Vacant Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship)
Bout 13: Paul Hughes def. Fabiano Silva via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:47)
Bout 12: Ger Harris def. Gregory Wamytan via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:32)
Bout 11: Decky McAleenan def. Ville Mankinen via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:22)
Bout 10: Rory Evans def. Taka Mhandu via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:23)
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM IST) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 9: Solomon Simon def. Ieuan Mackenzie via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 4:59)
Bout 8: Scott Harvey def. Enrico Di Gangi via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Ryan Shelley def. Kallum Parker via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Eimar Darcy def. Jenny Line via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:58)
Bout 5: Ciaran Brady def. Tomasz Zdanowski via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:05)
Bout 4: Dara Ward def. Ben Petches-Kelly via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 2:44)
Bout 3: Matthew Elliott def. Valentino Riva via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 1:06)
Bout 2: Jennifer Trioreau def. Sineadh Ni Nuallain via Decision, Split
Bout 1: Jamie Abbott-Bissett def. Pawel Jezierski via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:03)
Phil Davis Out of April 12th PFL Main Event Against Rob Wilkinson, Replaced By Tom Breese
The PFL debut of long-time Bellator and UFC talent Phil Davis won’t be going down next weekend.
Davis has been pulled from his April 12th main event bout against Rob Wilkinson, the promotion announced this week. The reason for his departure from the Las Vegas, Nevada, USA card isn’t known at the moment.
Replacing Davis will be fellow UFC alum Tom Breese. The fight will take place as part of PFL’s light heavyweight season, with the winning fighter earning points contributing to the division’s regular season standings.
Breese, an eight-fight UFC vet, departed the promotion in 2021 after suffering a loss to Omari Akhmedov. He has been incredibly active since then, earning six wins and one loss with appearances in KSW and Netherlands-based promotion Levels Fight League. He scored a win on a PFL Europe card late last year, submitting Cleiton Silva in the first round.
Wilkinson, a 2022 PFL titleholder, will try to begin a potential second championship year with a short-notice opponent in his sights. Wilkinson had his 2023 season cut short after a failed drug test emerged from his first fight in the year.
Along with the new opponent for Wilkinson, his fight has been moved down to co-main event status. A matchup between 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Impa Kasanganay and former LFA champ Alex Polizzi will now headline the card.