UFC fighter arrested hours before event
Lightweight fighter Jeremy Stephens, who is scheduled to fight Yves Edwards on Friday night's UFC on FX: "Browne vs. Bigfoot" event in a preliminary bout to air on Fuel TV, has been arrested, according to a report by MMAJunkie. Stephens was arrested on an undisclosed felony charge from out of state, and was taken into custody by the Minneapolis Police Department. He is currently being held without bail.
Despite the arrest of his fighter, UFC president Dana White insists the 26-year-old Iowa native will still be able to compete on the card, which begins at 5 p.m. ET.
Stephens, nicknamed "Lil' Heathen," first fought in the UFC in May 2007, and has attained a record of 7-7, with three wins coming via knockout. He fights out of San Diego, Calif.
UPDATE: Said White at the end of the Fuel TV-broadcast of the preliminary card, "Jeremy Stephens was arrested this morning at his hotel for a warrant from 2011. I've been working on this thing all day, and we're still working on it now. Jeremy, right now, is still not off the fight." White did add, however, that at that moment, Stephens was still in jail.
UPDATE: After the event, White posted on the Underground Forum that he'd been working since 11:00 a.m. to arrange for Stephens to get out jail, but no deal could be reached. The charge stemmed from an assault in Iowa in 2011.
