UFC lightweight Jeremy Stephens might not be be competing at tonight's UFC on FX 5 event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned the Minneapolis Police Department arrested the hard-hitting lightweight this morning. He's being held without bail at the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility.
Official records indicated Stephens was detained in relation to an out-of-state felony charge. However, police officials could not offer specifics to the case. Representatives for Stephens didn't return messages.
UFC officials could not initially be reached for comment. However, UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com he still expects Stephens to compete.
Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is expected to face Yves Edwards (41-18-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) on the FUEL TV-broadcast preliminary card of UFC on FX 5, which takes place at Minneapolis' Target Center.
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.
The 26-year-old Stephens has competed in the UFC since 2007, and his notable victories include knockouts of Rafael dos Anjos and Marcus Davis, as well as a decision win over Sam Stout.
If Stephens is not able to compete and the contest is ultimately scrapped, a welterweight matchup between Mike Pierce and Aaron Simpson that was previously expected to stream on Facebook likely would be elevated to the evening's FUEL TV-broadcast preliminary card.
The Edwards vs. Stephens bout could be the second fight to drop off the card in the past 24 hours; a planned matchup between Dennis Hallman and Thiago Tavares also was canceled when Hallman failed to make weight and left Minneapolis to deal with family issues in his native Washington.
Source: UFC on FX 5's Jeremy Stephens arrested, bout with Yves Edwards in jeopardy
