Are you wondering if there have been any UFC fighters arrested?
In this article, we’ll look at every UFC fighter arrested, the crimes they allegedly committed, whether they were convicted, and the consequences they faced.
Contents
List of Every UFC Fighter Arrested
In alphabetical order, here’s the full list of every UFC fighter arrested.
Cain Valesquez
In February 2022, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Valesquez was arrested for shooting at a man he believed had molested his 4-year-old relative at a daycare center where he was a client.
The shooting took place after an 11-mile car chase in San Jose, California. Cain used a 40-caliber handgun and fired at the car multiple times, with the intended target’s stepfather sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.
Cain Velasquez is being held without bail and has been denied bail on three occasions. He’s charged with attempted murder, premeditated murder, and gun-related charges; and is facing life in prison.
The case is ongoing as Cain Valesquez pleaded not guilty on 5th August, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for November 7.
Chael Sonnen
Chael Sonnen was arrested and charged with 11 counts of battery (1 by strangulation) after a December 2021 incident in Las Vegas. He’s alleged to have assaulted a couple, two other guests, security guards, and another person who tried to stop Sonnen.
The Stellpflugs (couple) claimed the attack was unprovoked and described it as a rampage where they thought they were going to lose their lives. Sonnen revealed he couldn’t remember the incident, after taking an Ambien (sleeping pill) earlier in the day – how convenient.
Those charges have since been reduced to 4 counts of battery (April 2022). The Stellpflugs continue to sue Chael Sonnen in civil court, where they could be awarded damages if Sonnen is found guilty – but he will not be liable for jail time because of the reduced counts and dismissal of the felony charge.
Cody East
Cody East is another former UFC fighter arrested and charged multiple times. In 2006, Cody East was arrested for assaulting a police offer. In 2008, East was sentenced to 3 years in prison after being charged with child abuse and battery.
In 2016, East was charged with 3 felony charges: aggravated battery, assault, and false imprisonment. The charges were dropped after the victim and a witness failed to show up to court.
His most recent arrest was in March 2022, charged with false imprisonment, child abuse, and battery. Cody fought with his wife, pushed her, and refused to let her and their children out of their car. He was released after the incident on a zero-dollar bail pending the trial.
The case is ongoing and Cody last had a pre-trial hearing on April 26, 2022.
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor’s first arrest came in 2017 after he was caught speeding. He pled guilty and was fined $440. In 2019 he pled guilty to assaulting a man in a pub and was fined $1,100.
Conor McGregor became a UFC fighter arrested after trash-talking between himself and Khabib Nurmagomedov was taken personally.
McGregor and some of his friends attacked a bus that Khabib was on, in the loading dock of the Barclays Center in New York, just 2 days before Khabib was fighting Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. The incident saw McGregor throw a trolley through the bus window and attempt to do the same with a chair.
Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were both cut by the glass with Borg getting glass in his eyes. Both fighters were pulled from their fights at UFC 223. McGregor turned himself in to the NYPD later that night and was charged with 3 counts of assault and 1 count of criminal mischief.
McGregor was released on $50,000 bail and made to do 5 days of community service, attend anger management therapy, and pay for all the damages he caused (undisclosed). Michael Chiesa also sued Mcgregor for $50 million in damages – the result of which remains undisclosed.
Most recently in March 2022, Conor McGregor was arrested in Ireland, facing 6 charges consisting of dangerous driving, driving without a license, and having no insurance. McGregor is out on bail with his next court hearing on November 24.
Dmitry Sosnovskiy
Dmitry Sosnovskiy is an undefeated (11-0) MMA fighter who competed in the UFC once in 2018.
Dmitry was sentenced to 8 and a half years after being found guilty of kidnapping and extorting a Russian businessman. He and 4 others threatened the businessman with death unless he paid them 300,000 rubles ($5,000).
After refusing to pay, the businessman was choked unconscious. Upon waking, he was alone and managed to escape, where he reported the crime to the police who subsequently arrested Dmitry and his accomplices.
Hermes Franca
Hermes Franca fought in the UFC 10 times Between 2003 and 2009.
In 2011, Franca turned himself into the Clackamas County Jail after being accused of sexually abusing an underaged female at a Bjj academy he used to teach at.
In January 2012, Hermes Franca pled guilty to one count of unlawful penetration and one count of first-degree sexual abuse, for which he was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Franca was also given 54 months of post-prison supervision and was required to register as a sex offender.
Jason Miller
Jason Miller is a former UFC fighter and TUF coach who’s been arrested over 12 times since 2011. Some of his crimes include vandalism, assaulting officers of the law, domestic violence, battery and assault, driving under the influence, and trespassing. Some of his most notable arrests are as follows.
In 2011, Miller was charged with assault after head-locking his sister at a party and refusing to let go. In 2019, Miller pled guilty to a vandalism charge and was sentenced to 1 year in prison – he’d vandalized his girlfriend’s property in La Habra, California.
Miller’s most recent arrest was in September 2021, charged with domestic violence after his partner called the police and showed signs of trauma to her face and neck.
Miller struggled with the police and was tasered, handcuffed, and taken to the hospital. Miller is being held on bail of $1.385 million.
It later came to light that a few days before his domestic violence arrest, Miller was involved in a bar fight. A man suffered broken ribs and Miller was charged with assault and battery. It seems inevitable that Jason Miller will be spending many years behind bars once his trials are concluded in 2023.
Jeremy Jackson
Jeremy Jackson competed at UFC 44 against Nick Diaz and 3 years later in TUF Season 4.
Jackson was arrested in 2008 for allegedly raping his ex-girlfriend during a burglary. During the 2010 trial, Jackson pled guilty against the advice of his lawyers and was sentenced to 25 years to life.
Joe Son
Joe Son was one of the earliest UFC fighters, featuring just once at UFC 4 and losing to Keith Hackney.
In 2011, Joe Son was sentenced to 7 years to life in prison for the torture he committed during a gang rape. While in prison, he beat his cellmate (Michael Graham) to death and was sentenced to an extra 27 years for voluntary manslaughter, for a new total of 34 years.
Jon Jones
The greatest martial artist of all time is well known for having troubles outside of the octagon. Jon Jones has been arrested 4 times since 2012.
His first arrest was in 2012 after he was driving while intoxicated (DWI) and drove his car into a pole in New York. He pleaded guilty and received a $1,000 fine and a 6-month driving suspension.
In 2015, Jon Jones was arrested for a hit-and-run, where he skipped a red light and crashed into 2 other vehicles that left a pregnant woman with a broken arm.
Jones was sentenced to 18 months of probation and 72 charity appearances, was stripped of his light heavyweight title by the UFC and suspended indefinitely.
In 2019, Jones was arrested and charged with battery for assaulting a woman at a strip club in Albuquerque. Jones pleaded no contest and received a deferred 90-day sentence.
In 2020, Jones was arrested for the fourth time for driving and firing a gun under the influence, having an open container (empty liquor bottle), and having no car insurance.
Jones pled guilty to driving while intoxicated (DWI) for which the other charges were dropped. He served 4 days of house arrest, an unknown amount of probation and therapy, and was given the order to avoid arrest and alcohol.
Jones’ most recent arrest was in September 2021 just hours after his UFC Hall of Fame ceremony. He was charged with domestic violence and tampering with a vehicle. Jones denied he struck his fiancée despite her having blood on her face and clothing, as well as on the bed sheets in their hotel room.
After being picked up, Jones headbutted a police vehicle and caused a dent in the hood. Jones was later released on bond. His domestic violence charges were dropped but he pleaded guilty to the tampering with vehicle charges. Jones had to pay a fine of $1,000 and attend anger management counseling.
Overall, it’s amazing to see one of the most composed and calm fighters under pressure lose frame and common sense after drugs are involved. Jones is looking to commit to a life without alcohol.
Jonathan Koppenhaver (War Machine)
Jonathan Koppenhaver is a former UFC fighter who featured on TUF Season 6 and at UFC 84.
Koppenhaver was arrested and convicted multiple times. In 2007, he was sentenced to 3 years of probation after an altercation in Las Vegas where he struck a man and strangled him unconscious.
More notably, Koppenhaver had previously dated pornographic actress Christy Mack, and in 2014 he attacked her and her new partner in Mack’s Las Vegas home.
He beat her partner for 10 minutes, before letting him go and turning his attention to Christy Mack. Christy was hospitalized after suffering a dozen missing teeth, a fractured rib, a broken nose, and 18 broken bones in her face. She’d also been raped, cut with a knife, and her liver ruptured.
In 2017, Koppenhaver was convicted on 29 felony counts, for which he’s serving 36 years in prison.
Jorge Masvidal
When trash-talking goes wrong, this is the result. 16 days after his defeat to Colby Covington at UFC 272, Jorge Masvidal was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief after he attacked Colby Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami.
The attack resulted in Colby having a chipped tooth, a wrist abrasion, and damages to his $90,000 Rolex watch. At the scene, Masvidal allegedly said, “You shouldn’t have been talking about my kids”, which shows he lost his usual composure and took the trash-talking personally.
Jorge was released from jail on a $15,000 bond and awaits the pre-trial hearing date of November 17th, 2022. If Masvidal is found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Lee Murray
Lee Murray fought once in the UFC (46) in 2004, before his MMA career ended in 2005 after being stabbed multiple times outside a club in Mayfair, London. Before his fighting career, Lee Murray was a notorious London drug dealer, once convicted for the possession of cocaine and cannabis.
Lee Murray was arrested and charged in 2006 for his masterminding role in the Securitas depot robbery in Kent, England. The heist was an armed robbery where roughly $92 million (£53 million) was stolen.
In 2010, Lee Murray was sentenced to 10 years in prison and this was later increased to 25 years after a failed prison escape. Lee Murray will be 57 years old if he serves his full sentence until 2035.
Luis Pena
Luis Pena was a very promising UFC fighter who had a 5-3 UFC record. He was released by the UFC after being arrested 3 times between June and October 2021.
Each and every arrest was the result of battery and domestic violence charges against his girlfriend, which the UFC could no longer tolerate.
Prior to and during the time he committed these crimes, Pena was open about his drug abuse and mental health issues but refused to get professional treatment.
Renato Sobral
2007 was not a good year for Renato Sobral. He was arrested and charged with battery and trespassing in July after he spat at a bouncer at the Hard Rock Hotel in Florida.
Following this, Renato Sobral beat David Heath via anaconda choke at UFC 74 in August but was released from the promotion after refusing to let go of the choke, despite David Heath being unconscious and the referee’s best attempt at separating them.
Overall
This has been a list of every UFC fighter arrested (15 fighters), for which some received prison time and others much lesser punishment.
The most common offenses were battery, drunk driving, assault, and sexual assault, which you may conclude stems from their career as fighters, but more than likely is a result of their childhood or present-day issues such as money or health problems.
You may also be interested in reading the full list of dead UFC fighters who passed way before their time.
