Knockdown Daily 9/29/21: Details Emerge From Recent Jon Jones Arrest
A police report alleging domestic violence and damage of property from Jon Jones leads the MMA headlines for Wednesday
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily. This issue is a loaded one that will cover some of the top MMA stories from the past 48 hours.
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Nevada Police Report Alleges Domestic Battery, Damage of Property By Jon Jones
Content Warning: This article describes scenes of domestic violence.
Police documents following the arrest of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones allege a violent evening in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, which saw him commit domestic violence and damage a police vehicle just hours after a UFC Hall of Fame event.
It was reported last week that Jones had been arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and injuring or tampering with a vehicle. After a 12-hour hold period in a Nevada jail, Jones was released with an $8,000 bail.
Jones was arrested around 6 AM on September 24th, per documents from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, which were obtained by Marc Raimondi of ESPN.
Jones allegedly caused damage to a police car while resisting arrest, becoming “irate” and smashing his head into the front hood of the car, causing damages to the vehicle. The report described Jones’ arrest as an “emotional roller coaster,” where he threatened lawsuit and broke down into tears at one point.
The former UFC champ’s altercation with police came late on Friday morning. Authorities were responding to a domestic disturbance call at the hotel Caesars Palace, where it was said that a woman was bleeding from “her nose/mouth.”
The police report details that a Caesars Palace employee came into contact with a woman Thursday night that feared heading back to her hotel room. When asked if she was okay, she allegedly broke into tears. The woman was later brought into a security room of the building.
When interviewed by police, the woman claimed that Jones had been physical with her, only describing that her hair was pulled and the back of her head was touched. Police observed a swollen upper lip and a red mark on the woman’s upper right cheek. They also discovered blood on the bedsheets of the hotel room in question.
The arrest came only hours after Jones was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his 2013 fight against Alexander Gustaffson. At that event, Jones described his mission to return to action in the second quarter of 2022 at heavyweight.
Jones is expected to return to court on October 26th regarding his charges.
Jones has had numerous run-ins with the law before, pleading guilty to DWI (driving while intoxicated), DUI (driving under influence), and felony hit-and-run charges in the past. He also pleaded no contest to a battery charge in 2019, following an alleged incident with a waitress at a strip club.
Interim Bantamweight Title Fight Between Cory Sandhagen and Former Champ Petr Yan Set For UFC 267
UFC will introduce an interim bantamweight championship late this year, as former champ Petr Yan will face Cody Sandhagen at the promotion’s October 30th event. The new pairing was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Yan is being placed in an interim title spot after a matchup against UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling fell through last week. The interim belt will serve as a way for the division to keep moving with the current champion sidelined.
Yan dropped the belt earlier this year, being on the losing side of a disqualification against Sterling due to a fourth-round illegal knee strike. Before then, Yan had defended his belt once in a 2020 performance over former 145-pound champ Jose Aldo.
The fight will be Sandhagen’s first title fight since joining the UFC roster in 2018.
Sandhagen started his run in the promotion with a five-fight winning streak. After losing to Sterling in 2020, Sandhagen bounced back by scoring knockouts over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar within a four-month window.
Sandhagen is coming off a loss, as he dropped a split decision to the returning TJ Dillashaw in July.
The new interim title booking keeps UFC 267 as a double title fight lineup. In the main event of the show, Jan Blachowicz will look to defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for the second time when facing Glover Teixeira.
UFC Looking To Book Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo In December 4th Main Event
Former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo could potentially headline an MMA card for the first time in years on December 4th, as he is reportedly being lined up to face Rob Font on that date.
While the bantamweights haven’t officially signed off on the bout, verbal agreements are currently in place, per a report from Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
Aldo’s last main event bout was in late 2017 when he lost a rematch against then-champion Max Holloway. He has since made seven appearances, including another title fight in 2020 against Petr Yan.
Aldo is being lined up for a main event fight after stringing together two consecutive wins at bantamweight. He most recently put on a three-round clinic against veteran Pedro Munhoz, defeating him via unanimous decision at UFC 265 in August.
Font is currently on an incredibly strong run up the bantamweight division. He has won his last four fights, including victories over Marlon Moraes and Ricky Simon.
Font won his UFC main event debut in May, going five rounds against Cody Garbrandt for a decision victory.
Igor Poterya and Daniel Zellhuber Offered UFC Contracts on ‘Dana White’s Contender Series’
UFC President Dana White offered two contracts at the end of this week’s episode of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Prospects Daniel Zellhuber and Igor Poterya were handed UFC contracts following their wins Tuesday at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The distribution of contracts was a significant drop off from prior weeks on this season, where as many as most or all winners on cards were offered UFC contracts.
Poterya scored a first-round finish in the main event of the show, stunning Lukasz Sudolski with a series of punches. After hurting Sudolski with a two-punch combination and dropping him with a right hook, Poterya finished the fight with ground and pound shots.
Zellhuber’s win saw him end the 12-fight undefeated record of Lucas Almeida, evading an early flurry to control a three-round striking battle.
Fighters Caio Borralho and Rizvan Kuniev won their bouts but weren’t offered UFC contracts by the end of the night.
A full report on the recent “Contender Series” episode can be read here.
Ricky Glenn To Replace Diego Ferreira In October 23rd UFC Bout Against Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson has been given a new opponent for UFC’s October 23rd show, now expected to fight Ricky Glenn instead of Diego Ferreira. The opponent change, which was first reported by MMA DNA, is due to injury.
The fight was scheduled to give Ferreira a chance to snap a two-fight losing streak. While he entered the year on an impressive six-fight win streak, he has since dropped bouts to Beneil Dariush and Gregor Gillespie.
Glenn will be looking for his second win since his return. The UFC vet broke a near three-year absence from the cage in June, scoring a 37-second stoppage win over Joaquim Silva.
Now with a new opponent across from him, Dawson will be fighting to continue his undefeated promotional run. He has won five fights since making his promotional debut in 2019. Most recently, he stopped veteran Leonardo Santos late in the third round with strikes.
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