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Former UFC star Anthony Johnson recently made a successful debut at Bellator, picking up a KO victory over Jose Augusto Azevedo. However, shortly following the win, Johnson was arrested and charged with identity theft.
According to a report via Daily Voice, Johnson has been released on a $500 bond. He is currently scheduled to make an appearance in court later this month to respond to the charges.
The identity theft charges have materialized due to a complaint that was issued to the New Canaan Police Department regarding the illegal use of a credit card in 2019. This led to the police department obtaining a warrant for Johnson's arrest.
According to the Daily Voice report, Anthony Johnson was involved in the following crime:
"Police said that the illegal use of the credit card was used to purchase a round-trip ticket for Newark to Fort Lauderdale, with Anthony Johnson as the passenger."
Anthony Johnson was reportedly cited for spending no more than $500 on a payment card that had been revoked. He was taken into custody on Saturday, May 8, with the New Canaan Police Department locating Johnson at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville. He was then transported to the New Canaan Police Headquarters.
Anthony Johnson is expected to appear in court on June 8.
Anthony's Johnson highs and lows
The arrest came just days after Anthony Johnson's debut performance at Bellator 258. Johnson was initially meant to compete against another former UFC fighter in Yoel Romero in the quarter-finals of Bellator's light-heavyweight tournament.
However, Romero was forced to drop out of the fight on short notice after failing a pre-fight medical test. This led to Jose Augusto Azevedo stepping in despite the lack of preparation time. Azevedo held a record of 7-2 going into the fight and was a training partner of the notorious 'Pitbull' brothers.
Even with the short notice booking of the fight, Azevedo was able to give Johnson trouble early in the fight. However, Johnson truly lived up to the nickname 'Rumble' in the second round, catching Azevedo with a heavy shot, KO-ing the Brazilian.
Johnson will now progress to the semi-finals of the tournament. His next opponent will be Vadim Nemkov, Bellator's current light-heavyweight champion.
Nemkov was able to dominate Phil Davies in his quarter-final bout to pick up a unanimous decision victory. Bellator have not yet commented on Johnson's arrest, and it remains to be seen whether he will be reprimanded by the company.
