After investigation, UFC clears Nicholson of domestic violence claims

After an investigation of allegations of domestic violence against UFC fighter Alex Nicholson, the promotion has cleared him without punishment.  Nicholson is scheduled to fight Saturday at the UFC event in Mexico City.

Nicholson was arrested in Orlando on May 8^th accused of domestic violence against his fiancée at a 7-Eleven.  A 9-1-1 call (obtained by MMA Fighting) from the store’s convenience clerk claimed that a man “put his hands” on a woman.  Nicholson was the alleged man that was seen hitting his fiancée which left a contusion on the side of his fiancee’s head near her temple.  She refused to fill out a domestic violence report according to the arrest report.

The UFC’s law firm, Campbell & Williams, conducted an investigation of the matter and determined that there was “no sufficient evidence” that indicates an act of domestic violence.  The UFC’s official statement also noted that the State Attorney of Florida declined to proceed with a case against Nicholson.  The announcement of the clearance of Nicholson came the day before he was set to fight Sam Alvey at the Mexico City UFC Fight Night.

In recent memory, the UFC suspended Travis Browne pending an investigation of claims of domestic violence against his estranged wife.  Browne was held out of activities surrounding International Fight Week in 2015 but was reinstated a month later.  An investigation by Campbell & Williams led to no finding of evidence to support that Browne was guilty of domestic violence.

Payout Perspective:

Certainly, the timing of clearing Nicholson is convenient as he will be able to fight without any questions related to the incident.  Domestic violence is a serious issue and it would have been better from a public relations standpoint if this would have been cleared a week earlier.  In the alternative, should the UFC had provisionally suspended Nicholson pending the investigation as it does with fighters that have flagged drug tests?  The optics of the findings of the investigation looks like he was given a pass since he is fighting Saturday night.  While we do not know what actually occurred, if there were no witnesses to testify and his fiancée does not want to press charges, the prosecutors would not have a case.