UFC conducted investigation on newcomer East’s criminal history

UFC newcomer Cody East was investigated extensively regarding his criminal history.  East, a 12-1 fighter from New Mexico, was charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual behavior in September 2005 when he was a 17-year-old in high school.   This was only one of several crimes involving the heavyweight prospect.

East was charged with 10 counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor, four counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and one count of false imprisonment.  East pleaded innocent to the charges.

In 2007, East was charged with four counts of first-degree rape among other criminal charges.  The sordid details are here.  Although he was acquitted of the rape charge, East found himself in more trouble in July 2007 when he allegedly assaulted several young girls.

There is more to his criminal history here in this extensive post on Bloody Elbow.

East’s manager indicated that the company conducted an “extensive background check” before offering him a UFC contract.

In addition, BE has obtained a statement from the UFC which details their background check including interviewing East’s former probation officer.  The probation officer stated that East would be “a good candidate” for the UFC which we assume meant that East had gone through rehabilitation and counseling successfully and would not be a detriment to the company.

East is scheduled to debut at UFC 197.

Payout Perspective:

The UFC instituted a policy in 2014 which requests background checks for fighters.  Notably, the Will Chope incident comes to mind.  Domestic violence is a sensitive subject and you might understand why the UFC conducted an independent investigation which might have been above and beyond the standard background check.  One would hope that the investigation concluded that East has reformed his life since his criminal activity.  Combat sports as well as other sports such as the NFL have athletes involved in domestic violence and it’s up to the leagues to determine whether it is worth its time and reputation to associate them with its brand.