UFC star Jon Jones facing allegations of assault at strip club

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has put together one of the most impressive resumes in UFC history.

However, the controversial superstar’s rap sheet continues to grow at the same rate.

Jones is facing one count of misdemeanor battery stemming from an allegation by an Albuquerque, New Mexico strip club waitress in April, the latest in a string of run-ins with the law.

The incident, first reported Sunday by KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico, involved Jones’ allegedly slapping the waitress inappropriately before lifting her off the ground with a chokehold.

Jones, who turned 32 on Friday, was slated to appear in court on June 12, but the letter sent to him by police was returned to the department and was reportedly mailed to an incorrect address and he was issued a bench warrant for failing to show up.

The fighter claims he was unaware of the situation until he was contacted by media Sunday. He paid $300 later Sunday to clear the warrant and has not yet been given a new court date.

“Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address,” Jones’ spokesperson James Hallinan said in a statement. “However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public.”

UFC officials declined comment to the Review-Journal, but Jones took to social media on Monday to address the situation.

“I’m definitely not in any trouble my friend,” he posted in response to a question. “Don’t be so quick to believe everything you read on the Internet.

“I know there’s a whole bunch of people hoping for my downfall but there’s even more who are proud of me and love seeing me do well. And (expletive) staying inside, I love this community.. excited to keep climbing, haters going to be mad when I win in December.”

Jones defended the belt with a split-decision win over Thiago Santos earlier this month at T-Mobile Arena. He has said he wants to return to the cage in December, likely in Las Vegas, though no opponent has been announced.

According to the summons, the woman said Jones attended TD’s Eubank Showclub with his brother. Though she didn’t specify which of his two NFL veteran brothers was with him, TMZ reported it was current Arizona Cardinals star Chandler Jones.

After repeatedly requesting lap dances from her despite being informed on several occasions she was a waitress and not a dancer, Jones allegedly pulled the woman on to his lap and kissed her neck. At one point, she went to pick up an order of shots for the table and Jones followed her to the bar and applied a choke from behind, lifting her off the ground.

The woman claimed it felt more like “roughhousing,” but turned more sexual when he placed her down and smacked her genital area. She says she informed him he wasn’t allowed to do that unless he paid her and that he continued to touch her until he decided to leave.

“I just don’t want to deal with this person,” she said, according to the summons. “I think he is a (expletive) piece of (expletive). The whole situation is so complicated and I’m not really sure what to say and this person gets away with (expletive) everything.”

Jones pled guilty to a DWI charge in 2012 after an auto accident in New York and to a felony hit-and-run charge for his role in a high-profile 2015 accident that injured a pregnant woman. He was arrested for violating his probation in 2016 when he was pulled over for allegedly drag racing and a recording surfaced of him arguing with the police officer.

He was stripped of the UFC title for the 2015 incident and has faced two suspensions for failed drug tests administered by USADA in addition to a positive result for cocaine during a test that wasn’t supposed to screen for drugs of abuse.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.