A timeline of Jon Jones’ legal trouble, arrests [UPDATED July 2024]

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has a long history of trouble with the law. It's been a dark cloud over his incredible career and oftentimes even discredits him with fans as the GOAT. Here's a brief breakdown of some of the issues, updated as they happen.

May 2012

Jones was involved in an accident where he drove his car into a telephone pole in Binghamton, NY. At the time Jones was arrested for driving under the influence and later pleaded guilty to the DUI. He was not sentenced to any jail time and instead had to pay a fine and his license was suspended for six months.

August 2014

In the leadup to UFC 178, Jones and Daniel Cormier were involved in an altercation during fight week media obligations. The two needed to be separated and received punishment from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Jones was fined $50,000 and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service.

January 2015

Jones was scheduled to fight at UFC 182 when prior to the fight he tested positive for a metabolite called benzoylecgonine which is a known metabolite of cocaine. Jones was tested again prior to the fight and tested clean so he was able to compete. After the event, he admitted to making a mistake and put himself in rehab for a day.

April 2015

Jones was fresh off his UFC 178 win over Cormier and seemed to be riding high when he again found himself in legal trouble. Jones was arrested in Albuquerque, NM after leaving the scene of a hit and run. Jones was charged with a felony of leaving the scene of the crime and having a marijuana pipe in the vehicle. One of the victims of the hit and run was a pregnant woman. Jones turned himself in to police and was sentenced to 18 months of probation and community service.

As a result of this felony charge, Jones was stripped of his UFC belt. He would be absent from competition for one year. Jones was charged with battery after an incident that allegedly occurred in April 2019. The incident occurred when a cocktail waitress claimed Jones "slapped her, put her in a choke hold and kissed her on the neck, and touched her after she had asked him to stop."

July 2019

Jones was charged with battery following claims from a waitress that Jones hit her and assaulted her. Jones pleaded no contest to this charge and was placed on a 90-day probation. Throughout the last three years, Jones has also had a fair share of trouble with drug testing in the UFC. He was failed several tests and has been suspended from the UFC on multiple occasions. The UFC might have reason to strip him of his belt once again due to this most recent arrest. Jones is currently on a four-fight winning streak and in a time of seemingly no drug testing trouble. now the future for the troubled champ is up in the air.

March 2020

Jones was arrested after a police officer heard gunshots and went to investigate. When the officer arrived they found Jones in his jeep, intoxicated. He failed a field sobriety test as well. Police found a gun, and a partially empty bottle of Recuerdo Mezcal in the car and charged Jones with aggravated DWI, negligent use of a firearm, possession of an open container, and driving with no proof of insurance. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four days of house arrest

September 2021

Just hours after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, Jones was arrested after police responded to a domestic violence incident. According to a police report, Jones' daughter requested police to be called after her mother was locked out of their hotel room following an argument with Jones. While Jones was being questioned he headbutted a police car, resisted questioning, threatened the officers, and was eventually arrested. John's longtime coach asked John to leave the gym after the incident.

December 2022

The domestic violence charge against Jones was dropped, instead he was charged and plead guilty to felony tampering with a police vehicle charge and paid a $750 fine.

April 2023

On April 5, an article by the ABQ Raw News reported that UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was involved in an incident with someone looking to collect a sample from him for the UFC's new anti-doping program. The outlet reported that "sources" claim Jones "appeared extremely intoxicated and threatened to kill the tester" and even took his phone from him. The incident is alleged to have happened at the end of March but was not reported until April. The outlet also reported that the Albuquerque Police Department responded to the call and is "currently investigating the alleged criminal act." This report was confirmed by the police incident report.

July 2023

Jones has been charge with two misdemeanors stemming from the April 2023 incident involving the drug testing administrators. If convicted he could face jail time and fines. We'll update when a decision is reached.