Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight title contender Anthony Johnson reportedly entered a “not guilty” plea following his arrest last week after he was accused of domestic violence (read the full report of the alleged incident here).
According to MMA Junkie, because Johnson entered a plea of “not guilty,” his previously-scheduled arraignment hearing on June 6, 2019, has now been canceled. Instead, a case disposition will decided whether or not charges will be pursued or excused altogether.
Johnson’s attorney, Michael Walsh, denied any domestic violence took place, claiming that his client’s punches are so powerful that it would’ve been very obvious to police officers if he did, in fact, get physical.
“Anthony Johnson, if he hits you, your grandkids are going to feel it,” Walsh said when talking about the “completely ridiculous” accusations. “He’s trying to de-escalate her verbal argument. So he simply picks her up gently and puts her down. He simply did not want to argue anymore and put her in another room. That happens every day in America in domestic relationships.… It might be a domestic dispute, but it’s not domestic violence.”
As a condition of his release, Johnson his release was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and forbidden to be in possession of weapons, as well as consuming alcohol or drugs.
Johnson has a history of domestic violence accusations — he previously got three years of probation for a similar case 10 years ago that involved the mother of his children. He was also issued a restraining order in 2014 after he was accused of threatening and stalking a different woman.