Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has struck a plea deal with Nevada that saw domestic violence charges against him dropped along with a warning to stay out of trouble.
The 34-year-old pleaded no contest to charges of injuring or tampering with a vehicle on September 24th, the same night Las Vegas police were called to Caesars Palace on a domestic disturbance call involving Jones and longtime fiancee Jessie Moses. He was charged with domestic battery and felony injuring or disabling a vehicle that night.
Jones pled guilty to destroying the property of another with a value of between $25-$250. He must pay $750 in restitution to the victim of the property damage and attend anger management counseling. He also must “stay out of trouble” according to the misdemeanor sentence. The domestic battery charge was officially dismissed.
As the police report goes, they were called that night after Moses and one of the couple’s children came down the hotel lobby and asked for another room key at 4:30 AM local time. She was bleeding from the nose and mouth and said she was scared to return to her room. The security guard said her son asked him to call the police. When they got to the room, Moses said Jones hadn’t got “too physical” with her but touched the back of her head and pulled her hair to prevent her from leaving the hotel room. She had a swollen bloody lip, a mark on her cheek and blood on her sweatshirt and sheets. She refused to have pictures taken of the injuries.
Police spotted Jones walking near the hotel and alleged he became “irate,” smashing his head into the patrol car and going through “an emotional roller coaster” that included openly questioning how many of the cops he could fight at once and teasing he would do it before being threatened by a Taser.
Since the arrest, he said he was going to stop drinking. He and Moses remain engaged.
Jones was in town that night as his fight with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame. He hasn’t fought since February 2020 and unsuccessfully has attempted to negotiate a fight against heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou this year. He is no longer with JacksonWink MMA as he was banned from the facility.
Jones has been no stranger to run-ins with the law that includes a 2012 DUI conviction, a 2015 hit and run conviction, a 2019 battery conviction, and a 2021 DWI conviction. That doesn’t include three failed USADA drug tests.
