In the early morning of Sept. 24, Las Vegas police responded to a domestic disturbance call from Caesars Palace. 

According to the report, the caller stated that a white female adult was bleeding from her nose and mouth. The victim was later discovered to be former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Jon Jones’ fiancé, Jessie Moses. Jones, his fiancé and their three children were all staying at the hotel together. 

Jon “Bones” Jones was in Las Vegas for the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony where his 2013 fight with Alexander Gustafsson was being inducted. Just hours after the ceremony, Jones was arrested at 5:45 a.m. for misdemeanor battery, domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a police vehicle, which is considered a felony in Nevada. 

Upon arrival to the scene, police met Jones who identified himself. 

“As Jones was being detained, he became irate and smashed his head into the front hood of the patrol vehicle, leaving a medium size dent as well as chipping of some of the paint on the vehicle,” police wrote in the report. Due to the amount of damage done to the vehicle, the incident was considered a felony. 

Police also talked with Moses at Caesars Palace, where she denied that she and Jones had been arguing. She added that Jones had left to go out with friends around 11:30 p.m., while she stayed at the hotel. Moses stated that she was sleeping when Jones arrived back at the hotel in a very unhappy state. When police asked if he got physical with her Moses answered, “a little bit, yeah.”

Jones, 34, is considered by many to be the best UFC fighter of all time. Despite his dominance inside the octagon, Jones has been less than perfect when stepping out of the cage. The fighter has been in trouble on multiple occasions. 

In December 2014, Jones tested positive for cocaine, which he has since bragged about. In April 2015, he was charged with a felony hit-and-run in which Jones hit a pregnant woman and fled the scene on foot. In July 2016, Jones was again suspended for a failed drug test. In February 2018, he had his license revoke upheld after another failed drug test. In March 2020, Jones was arrested for alleged aggravated driving while intoxicated and negligent use of a firearm.

After waking up, Moses attempted to leave the room before Jones pulled her back in by her hair. Although the description by Moses was that Jones was only being a little rough, police observed blood on her clothing and chin and a bump on her lip. Moses shrugged off the bump, stating that she was unaware of anything happening to her lip, adding, “I know they are really dry.” Officers stated that she “seemed scared to even talk about” Jones.

 “It’s hard to bring this guy to Las Vegas, for any reason,” said UFC President Dana White to reporters at UFC 266.

White has feuded with Jones about his actions outside the UFC before. 

“It’s not even shocking anymore. When we bring him here, it is almost expected. We can’t even get him in Las Vegas for less than 12 hours and induct him into the Hall of Fame. It’s a problem. This guy has got a lot of demons,” White said.

Jones has been bulking up for a return at heavyweight, looking to take that title upon return. However, with this arrest, Jones may not get that opportunity. 

Moses initially went to the front desk of the hotel to ask for a key before a security guard noticed the blood. When asked if she was okay, security stated that she began tearing up and expressing that she was scared to go back to her room. At this point one of their three children asked if the staff could call the police. 

After Moses’ initial interview with police, she asked officers, “How long do I have until he is out?” She then declined filing for a protective order against Jones. 

When detained, Jones told police he would file a “huge lawsuit” against the police department for arresting him on the biggest night of his life. 

Jones’ emotions quickly changed as he broke down into tears, telling officers that he and Moses had been going through a hard time in their relationship. Jones then denied that he had touched Moses in their altercation. 

After this, police explained the charges being filed against Jones, informing him that he was going into custody. Police state that Jones then “[joked] about the arrest,” while saying that “he would like to take us all on and see what we could do.”

Jones also mocked police, saying that he could escape their handcuffs. After being told to stop resisting with the threat of being tased, Jones shifted his attitude and apologized to the officers before complying with their demands. The police report describes Jones as going through an “emotional roller coaster.” 

Jones was then transported to the Clark County Detention Center and booked. He posted his bail of $8,000 and was released by authorities. 

On Sept. 25, a Las Vegas court judge reviewed the case in order to determine whether there is probable cause to keep the DNA that was taken from Jones following the arrest. The judge found that there was probable cause for the arrest as court records stated that “the defendant’s biological specimen shall be submitted to the appropriate forensic laboratory for genetic marker analysis.”

Jones now has a court date set for Oct. 26, which will be a status check on the filing of a potential criminal complaint against him. 

Jones hasn’t competed in the UFC octagon since defending his 205-pound title against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in Feb. 2020. He has since vacated that title in the hopes of challenging current UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou. 

He holds a UFC record of 26-1-0 (1 No contest.) Standing at 6’4”, now reported to be over 255 pounds Jones was certainly a fierce competitor in his career. Jones has a record of 10-0 by way of (T)KO and 6-0 by way of submission on his career. Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history with his title victory over Mauricio Rua at the age of 23. 

Jones also holds the record of most wins in UFC title bouts with a record of 14-0. In his reign as the light heavyweight champion, Jones defeated legends like Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans and many others. All those title defenses are one of the major reasons why “Bones” is a top contender for the greatest of all-time status.

After posting bail, Jones took to social media with a post he has continued to replicate via his Instagram story. The post is a video of Jones bench pressing alongside several separate written comments. 

“I have way too much trauma to consume alcohol, my brain simply can’t handle it anymore. I will leave alcohol in my past forever.”

“Now is the time to work harder than ever.”

“Turn this nightmare into the best thing to ever happen in my life.”

“What the devil means for bad, God means for good.”

“Get right back on my horse.” 

These were many of the quotes included. 

The post was also accompanied by Randy Newman’s song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” 

Fighters, including UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, welterweight star, Khamzat Chimaev and middleweight fan-favorite, Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland shed their thoughts on the incident on social media. 

Adesanya and Jones have been increasingly vocal about their belief that if they were to ever clash inside the octagon, they’d easily defeat the other. After the arrest, Adesanya posted a picture of Jones’ longtime rival Daniel Cormier to his Instagram story. In the photo Cormier is shown smiling at his phone, appearing to insinuate that he is watching Jones’ legal trouble. A photoshopped bucket of popcorn is on the photo. The caption read “Good morning…” 

Khamzat Chimaev, Swedish MMA star, commented on an Instagram post regarding the arrest, posting a laughing emoji. Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland commented on the same post simply saying, “innocent.”

Adesanya, however, was not finished talking about Jones as he also posted to his Twitter account after reports of the arrest became public. 

“I’m sure y’all will give him ‘one more chance’ lol. I swear I said he’s gonna f— up again, he can’t help it. Now here we are,” Adesanya said in his Twitter post. “I’ve made mistakes in my time. I learn from them. I don’t think this is the first time this has happened in his house. But yea…posi vibez goiz.”

This was accompanied by a picture of Jones and a description of Moses’ statements to police. In the comments, Adesanya addressed Moses’ statements saying “It’s called ‘Stockholm syndrome.’”

White told reporters he would see how the fighter’s case plays out legally. It is unclear how Jones’ UFC career will look for the future following this arrest.