It is being reported by mmajunkie.com that Jeremy Stephens was arrested in Minneapolis this morning, and his fight with Yves Edwards may now happen now.
As being reported by MMAjunkie:
According to a Minneapolis Police Department representative, Stephens was arrested at the Marriott City Center Hotel, which is this week’s UFC host hotel, and arrived at the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility at 10:44 a.m. CT local time. It’s currently unknown when Stephens is scheduled to be released from the facility.
Obviously, it is weird why Stephens was detained is unknown. There is no way it could have been from drinking or partying, seeing as it is fight day and almost 11 in the morning.
If this fight is scrapped, it would be the second fight in 24 hours to be cancelled. Yesterday, a bout between Dennis Hallman and Thiago Tavares was cancelled before the weigh-ins.
After scrapping of the Hallman-Tavares battle, Hallman was released from his UFC contract. If this fight is called off, it would not be surprising if Stephens was released as well, as this would be embarrassing to the UFC.
That would be a shame. Stephens is an exciting fighter with a good fan following. He is rarely in boring fights and has earned his fair share of fight night bonuses.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this situation.
Update 1: It appears that Jeremy Stephens is being held without bail on a felony charge from another state. Seeing as Stephens is from Iowa, it could be from there, as that is where he lived before moving to San Diego.
Update 2: According to Dana White via Twitter, the fight will still be on.
Update 3: I just looked at UFC.com and the fight between Edwards and Stephens has been taken down. This could be a sign that this fight is officially scrapped, despite Dana White’s assurance on Twitter.
Update 4: I checked UFC.com again, and the fight is back up. I am utterly confused. I just assume Dana White is right and this fight will occur.
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