UFC's Luis Pena Allegedly Assaulted Girlfriend; Charged with Robbery, Battery
UFC veteran Luis Pena was arrested on Friday and is being held at the Broward County Detention Center in Florida after he was charged with robbery, battery and criminal mischief, according to ESPN's Marc Raimondi.
Pena will remain at the Broward County Detention Center until he can be transported to Palm Beach County, where his arrest warrant was issued. He cannot be released on bail until he sees a judge in Palm Beach County, according to Raimondi.
A Boca Raton Police Department affidavit obtained by Raimondi said Pena's girlfriend told police Pena grabbed her phone and threw it on the ground, breaking it.
That was enough to earn him a charge of robbery by sudden snatching. His girlfriend told police the pair then got into a physical fight that left her "with a small laceration on the left side of her lip as well as scratches and redness on her knuckles."
The situation intensified later, when Boca Raton police officers got a tip that a suicidal Pena was planning to return to his girlfriend's home to kill her. The caller also told police Pena had a gun and a knife. When he was reached on the phone by officers, he did not provide a statement.
The next day, officers spoke to Pena's girlfriend, who said she had a "lump" on her head from Pena punching her there while she was attempting to get him to leave the home, but she would not allow the group to see the injury. She also said he threatened suicide and showed her a gun on a FaceTime call weeks earlier.
Pena's attorney, Daniel Martinez, said his client is in need of professional help for his mental health issues, which he has spoken about on social media as recently as Wednesday:
"Luis, as many other fighters do, need help and not punishment," Martinez said. "Fighters have a very difficult job. They get hit in the head. We don't know what the long-term effects are."
UFC executive vice president and chief business officer Hunter Campbell said the promotion will not book any fights for Pena "until it gets more information," per Raimondi.
