Former UFC heavyweight fighter Lavar Johnson has been sentenced to five years behind bars for assaulting his girlfriend.
Johnson was arrested last year after having been alleged to have unleashed a sustained assault on his girlfriend at the time. The 38 year-old was drunk at the time and had become enraged when he discovered that his partner of seven years had been tracking him using GPS.
That led to him punching and kneeing her in the face multiple times as well as slamming her against the wall and floor.
The 6ft 3″, 250lb fighter is reported to have only stopped beating her after seeing blood coming from her face.
“It does appear there were times when Mr. Johnson could have stopped this offense,” Judge Glenda Allen-Hill stated in court. “That he could have not inflicted the amount of damage that he inflicted on his victim, but he did not.”
Johnson had previously served 30 days in jail for domestic abuse back in 2007 and had to undergo acohol counseling too, and that appeared to be a factor in the fighter being handed down a five year sentence, as opposed to the three year term he had been hoping for.
“I’m sorry,” Johnson said in court. “I take full responsibility for my actions.”
The 38 year-old fighter fought four time for the UFC in 2012 and 2013, starting off with two victories, before losing his next two fights.
He tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone following his last Octagon defeat to Brendan Schaub at UFC 157 and was then released by the promotion.
Johnson then moved on to Bellator, but continued to struggle to find form, losing three of his four fights there. He hasn’t fought since a submission loss to Chieck Kongo there in September of 2014.
