Is the controversial Jon Jones drug testing news real?

Late Friday night 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 are "currently investigating the alleged criminal act."

But is this real? Is this a legit news outlet and should fans be worried? We'll try our best to answer all these questions as best we can.

First, when it comes to the legitimacy of the new site, we just can't be sure. It's a relatively unknown outlet and we can see that no other legitimate news outlets in the area, such as the Albuquerque Journal, have covered the alleged incident. That could be because they want to confirm the news first-hand before reporting it, and that takes time, especially on a weekend. UPDATE: Several prominent news agencies have confirmed the details via an incident report. More details to follow.

Next, we have to look at the likelihood of this news being accurate and unfortunately for Jones, he has a lengthy track record of bad behavior including a hit and run, run-ins with police and even allegedly assaulting his own fiance. But he's also had issues with the drug testing procedures in the past. Jones himself admitted that he once hid from a drug tester.

Jones said that when he was at JacksonWink MMA gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, someone came to administer a drug test for the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He says he had "just smoked a blunt" and was afraid of failing the test so he hid under the gym's Octagon. That does not mean that anything Jones is accused of is automatically true, but it holds heavier weight due to his past indiscretions.

MMA Twitter reacts to latest Jon Jones controversy

Several UFC fighters responded to the rumors.

Fans also responded to the news, mostly cracking jokes about Jones' history with controversy.

Jones has been sidelined while he recovered from surgery. In that time he's been spotted abroad drinking with fans and getting tossed by Rugby players. He is thought to be defending his title versus Stipe Miocic next but no date has yet to be confirmed.

This is a developing story, please check back often for updates.