"It has come to our attention that an email is being circulated with false and misleading information pertaining to Mr. Anthony Johnson. On behalf of Mr. Johnson we would like to address this issue. On June 27th Mr. Johnson was arrested in Hayward California and was charged with misdemeanors stemming from an alleged altercation with an ex-girlfriend. Mr. Johnson is completely and unequivocally innocent of all charges. These charges are completely outside the realm of Mr. Johnson's character; he has no prior criminal record and has never been in trouble with the law. Furthermore, any assertion that the UFC played a part in posting his bail or in covering up the incident is completely untrue. Unfortunately, professional athletes are frequently made the victim of such false accusation. As this has been a stressful time for Mr. Johnson, we ask that judgment is withheld until all relevant facts have come to light."

-Ken Pavia of MMA Agents released the preceding statement in response to the recent internet buzz surrounding the arrest of his client, Anthony Johnson. Johnson has been charged with two separate felony counts and a misdemeanor count all steaming from a recent altercation involving an ex-girlfriend.

According to several reports Johnson allegedly made criminal threats and damaged his ex-girlfriends cell phone as she attempted to call police - both felony offenses. The misdemeanor is related to a domestic violence charge. Johnson subsequently posted bail and was released on the day of his arrest in late June. He is scheduled to appear at a pretrial hearing on July 17.

Anthony Johnson, 25, is considered to be one of the bright young prospects in the UFC's welterweight division. The dynamic striker has posted an impressive 7-2 MMA record with notable wins over Tommy Speer and Kevin Burns. He really appeared to be coming into his own after completely overwhelming Luigi Fioravanti for a first round TKO in his last outing at UFN 17 back in February.

We'll continue to follow this story and provide more details as they emerge.