UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from an encounter with a “frightened” drug test sample taker earlier this year.
Jones has been charged with assault and interference with communications, according to online records from Bernadillo County, New Mexico, and has a virtual bail hearing scheduled for 9:15 a.m. local time (11:15 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, July 17. MMA Fighting first reported the news on Monday.
If convicted, Jones faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $500 on the assault charge and up to $1,000 on the interference charge.
The charges against Jones were filed more than three months after the incident occurred on March 30, when officials from Drug-Free Sport International (DFSI) visited Jones at his home in Albuquerque to collect a urine sample.
According to the initial complaint filed with the Albuquerque Police Department, the workers said Jones was initially cooperative but eventually got into an argument when he struggled to provide a urine sample and offered a blood sample instead. Jones then threatened to sue the workers, took their cell phones and videotaped them. The workers added that they believed Jones was intoxicated because he smelled of alcohol.
The worker alleges that Jones put her cell phone in his pocket, “got in her face” and said, “Why are you f******s coming so early? Do you know what happens to people that come to my house? They end up dead.” According to the police complaint, the worker was “intimidated,” “scared” and “felt her heart pounding” by Jones’ implied death threats.
Jones quickly denied the allegations after reports of the incident surfaced and released home security camera footage that appeared to show him high-fiving an employee.
Jones, who turns 37 on July 19, has not competed since winning the vacant UFC heavyweight title with a first-round submission victory over Ciril Gane in March 2023 and is on an extended break. Jones was scheduled to defend the belt against former champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 last November, but the fight was canceled with three weeks to go after he ruptured his pectoral tendon during training.
The Jones-Miocic fight has been rescheduled and is widely expected to be the main event of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York in November.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie.