Browne reinstated after investigation inconclusive

The UFC announced that the investigation into allegations of domestic violence against Travis Browne is now complete.  Investigators determined that there was inconclusive evidence to support claims of the alleged abuse claims by Browne’s wife.

Browne was held out of International Fight Week activities as a result of allegations from Jenna Renee Webb that the UFC heavyweight had caused her bodily harm.  Webb posted pictures of her bruises she claimed were from Browne as a result of a February incident.  Browne’s representatives claimed that the allegations were unfounded.

The UFC launched an investigation using a former FBI agent with more than 25 years’ experience.  After a seven week investigation which included interviews “with multiple subjects associated with the principals, as well as the principals themselves.”  Based on the wording, it sounds as though Browne and Webb were interviewed in the investigation.

Via UFC.com:

PUBLIC SUMMARY RE: BROWNE INVESTIGATION

In an effort to provide the public with additional information regarding UFC’s investigation of allegations of domestic violence by Travis Browne, while honoring the competing interest of protecting the privacy rights of all the individuals who voluntarily cooperated in the investigation, UFC provides the following summary:

Upon learning of the posting of photographs on social media on or about July 8, 2015 by an individual reflecting bruises on their person and corresponding commentary that Travis Browne had committed the acts resulting in the bruising, UFC, through the Las Vegas-based law firm Campbell & Williams, began efforts to retain a third party to conduct a thorough, independent investigation into this matter.  In mid-July, Campbell & Williams retained a private investigator with more than 25 years of experience as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation operating out of the Los Angeles Field Office and as a Special Inspector General for the United States of America. The investigator has overseen countless investigations involving thousands of witnesses and subject interviews.

As part of his nearly two-month investigation into the Browne matter, the investigator and his colleagues interviewed nearly a dozen individuals located in several states.  The interviewees included the principals of the investigation, former spouses, individuals with close personal relationships, and health-care professionals.  Additionally, the investigator obtained various forms of electronic data reflecting interactions of the principals with each other and third parties.  The investigation also included electronic and hand searches for relevant civil and criminal records, law enforcement service-call records, and the like.

Based on the abundant evidence gathered to date, the results of the investigation are inconclusive to support the claims of alleged domestic violence involving Browne.  Similarly, the evidence was inconclusive to support a finding that Browne had violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy.  The evidence gathered in the investigation has also been reviewed by Donald J. Campbell, Esq. of Campbell & Williams, a former state and federal prosecutor with extensive experience overseeing criminal investigations, who likewise concurs that the results of the investigation are inconclusive.

As a result of the investigation, Browne will be able to return to the octagon.

Payout Perspective:

Not a surprise that this was released on Friday without much notice.  The usual standard is that if you do not want to make a lot of news, you release news when most are not looking.  Of course, that rule was somewhat broken tonight when Dana White went on ESPN to announce a new date and relocation for a Ronda Rousey fight.

Notably, the UFC press release states that there was inconclusive evidence that the he violated the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy.  The evaluation of whether the fighter violated the conduct policy was not stated in the Anthony Johnson third-party investigation just a couple days ago.  I’m sure many people will scrutinize the wording of the Browne release when the investigation found “inconclusive” evidence.  Certainly one might speculate that there was some evidence found regarding the possibility of domestic violence but not enough (in the minds of the investigators) for a jury to find Browne guilty of a crime.  Of course, there is news that Webb may now press charges which may change everything.  But, if investigators had the opportunity to interview Webb and other witnesses that may have knowledge of the claims, it may feel like prosecutors would not pursue the case.  MMA Payout will keep you posted.