MMA Fighting reports that Jeremy Stephens was arrested this morning on a Felony charge that has yet to be disclosed. Despite the arrest, Stephens will fight his scheduled fight tonight as part of the undercard bout on FUEL.
Although no word has come out yet on the charges, Dana White confirmed to Ariel Helwani that he is still scheduled to fight. He also sent out a tweet about Stephens.
Don’t listen to the media! Nobody ever told them Jeremy isn’t fighting. He is fighting!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 5, 2012
Payout Perspective:
Another public relations issue for the UFC and one that appears to be serious considering the gravity of the charges. The UFC is in a bind as to whether to cancel the fight or let Stephens fight. This cannot be good for Stephens as I’m sure his mind may be somewhere else. Conversely, maybe this makes Stephens this much focused in his fight based on the problems. It will be interesting to see how the broadcast team handles this matter and how White addresses this post-fight press conference.
@MMAjunkie : http://UFC.com has removed Jeremy Stephens vs. Yves Edwards from fight card. Mike Pierce vs. Aaron Simpson promoted to Fuel TV lineup.
And from Uncle Dana
Jason: LOL, great addition to the article IMO 🙂