Police in Des Moines, Iowa, say Jeremy Stephens' UFC on FX 5 booking was their first confirmation of the fighter's whereabouts following his alleged participation in a October 2011 assault.
Acting on that knowledge, they had the fighter arrested on an outstanding warrant on the morning of his Oct. 5 fight. Stephens was scheduled to fight Yves Edwards on the preliminary card of the FX-televised event at Target Center in Minneapolis.
"It wasn't personal," Des Moines Police Sgt. Joe Leo told the Des Moines Register. "We gave him several opportunities to turn himself in. He's had a year to take care of it."
In a statement released following the arrest, which was done at the UFC's host hotel by Minneapolis police, Stephens' manager said the fighter had never been notified of any charges pending against him and was hardly unreachable as a public figure living in the San Diego area.
Des Moines Police, however, say they contacted Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) about the warrant and gave him several opportunities to turn himself in.
"[The event is] the only opportunity we knew about where we could make the arrest," said Leo, who added Stephens' warrant could only be executed in states surrounding Iowa.
Despite efforts by UFC officials to get him released, the fighter remained in jail as the event passed. He was later shipped from Minneapolis to Des Moines, where he remains in custody on a $100,000 bond, according to the Des Moines Register.
Stephens was arrested on a warrant for willful injury and assault causing bodily injury. The alleged incident took place Oct. 15, 2011.
According to a police report obtained by MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com), the alleged assault took place late at night outside Fat Tony's bar in Des Moines. The wife of the victim says Stephens punched him after he was removed from the bar. The victim then leaned against the building and was punched in the head and face by Stephens' associate Dustin Bachman, the report said.
The victim's wife helped him into their car and was attempting to lock the doors when Bachman pulled him out of the vehicle by his feet, and Bachman and Stephens punched and kicked him in the head for approximately a minute, according to the report. She attempted to protect him after he was knocked unconscious and also was hit in her right arm, which caused swelling and bruising, the report said.
A supplemental police report states Bachman and Stephens then fled the scene as the victim lay on the ground. The victim temporarily stopped breathing before being driven to a local hospital, where he again stopped breathing and was intubated.
The victim was last reported to be in critical but stable condition with visible bruising and swelling on his face.
The supplemental report states police searched for Stephens and Bachman at "every address that was listed for them in the system" and were unable to determine their whereabouts. A warrant was then issued for their arrest.
Bachman later contacted the police department and was taken into custody on Oct. 15, 2011. He was unable to tell police where Stephens was.
A case investigation report following Stephens lists an address for him in Chula Vista, Calif. In the box describing his occupation, it lists "UFC."
UFC President Dana White expressed support for the lightweight after frantically trying to negotiate Stephens' release in the hours before the fight.
"We heard about this thing a long time ago," White told MMAjunkie.com. "Jeremy Stephens' side of the story is that he never hit the guy. It wasn't him. It was one of his friends, and they were all together, and he hit the guy. The guys were accusing him of hitting the guy because they're trying to get money out of him. Because he's a UFC guy, they think they can make money off of him or whatever. That's his side of the story, and I like Jeremy Stephens. He's a good kid. I've known him for years, and if that's what he tells me, I take grown men for their word.
"These guys, they're in business with me, and if that's what he tells me the story is, am I going to call him a liar?"
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