Luis Pena released from the UFC following latest arrest, domestic violence charge

The Ultimate Fighter 27 contestant, Luis ‘Violent Bob Ross’ Pena has seen his contract with the UFC officially terminated following the lightweight’s latest arrest and subsequent charge with battery domestic violence, allegedly against his partner and another unnamed woman. 

Through promotion officials, the UFC confirmed to TMZ on Tuesday night that they had parted ways with Pena, terminating his contract officially following the alleged incident.

“UFC is aware of the disturbing allegations concerning the recent arrest of Luis Pena,” The statement read. “Mr. Pena has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse issues and the organization has on multiple prior occasions attempted to help him get professional treatment.“

“At this time, UFC believes Mr. Pena needs to deal with the health and legal issues in front of him, and consequently has informed Mr. Pena’s management that his promotional agreement has been terminated.“

Pena, 28, was arrested and charged with battery domestic violence on Saturday, October 9. last, following an alleged physical altercation with his partner where it is alleged Pena punched his partner “multiple times with a closed fist“. The Naples-born lightweight is alleged to have struck his partner on multiple occasions, before continually striking her while she was on the ground.

Requiring police intervention, Pena is also alleged to have struck a second woman who had attempted to intervene, knocking her to the ground as well, while striking with a closed fist. Both the alleged victims received minor injuries, while Pena has since been released on a $6,000 bond. 

Speaking following Dana White’s Contender Series last night, the promotional president addressed Pena’s release from the organization, confirming that due to the nature of the alleged incident, Pena’s release was justified.

“This was a bad case and we knew he had problems before that we were trying to help him with,” White told assembled media. “Yeah, this was a pretty nasty one, I don’t know if you guys read the police report, but this one had to happen.“

An eight-fight UFC alum, Pena managed to amass a 5-3 promotional record, last competing at UFC Vegas 24 in April. 

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.