Anthony Johnson suspended indefinitely by the UFC
UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson has been suspended indefinitely from the promotion following allegations of domestic abuse and a restraining order filed against him from the mother of two of his children.
A report surfaced on Friday alleging abuse and threats from Johnson that resulted in a temporary restraining order being issued after a police report was filed. The statement given by the woman (who asked not to be named in the story), alleges that Johnson hit her in the face and knocked out two of her teeth along with several incidents of verbal altercations but only one of the incidents was reported to police.
Following the information from the police report going public, the UFC has opted to suspend Johnson indefinitely while they employ a third party investigator to dig into the situation at hand.
"We are aware of the situation involving Anthony Johnson. As a result, we are suspending him indefinitely," UFC officials wrote in a statement. "We are using a third-party law firm to conduct a formal investigation and once we have more information, we'll determine whether further course of action is necessary."
Johnson has rejuvenated his career since returning to the UFC earlier this year where he's won two fights in a row and was positioned for a potential No. 1 contender's fight against Alexander Gustafsson either later this year or in early 2015.
This suspension likely derails those plans for the time being.
This is Johnson's second brush with the law when it comes to domestic violence, although no formal charges have been filed in this latest case.
In 2010, Johnson plead 'nolo' (essentially meaning no contest) to charges filed against him for domestic violence in 2009. Johnson was sentenced to three years probation, community service and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling.
Following the news of the suspension, Johnson took to his Facebook to offer a response.
"The s--t people will say and the lengths people will go just to tell a f---ing lie is ridiculous," Johnson wrote. "That's all I'm going to say and thank you for all the support and positive feedback that I'm getting."
