The house Frank Lester posted on Instagram represented the final straw in a long-simmering conflict with Jackson Wink MMA Academy and its biggest star.
Lester, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 9” and now-former kickboxing coach for the famed gym, claims UFC light heavyweight champion
Jon Jones broke a handshake deal for coaching services prior to
UFC 239. As a result, he said, he was $2,200 short on closing costs to purchase the house after receiving a $7,000 check for 12 weeks’ work.
The house—along with a scathing takedown and veiled threat—was his version of a middle finger after several instances of alleged mistreatment.
More than eight years after he uprooted his life to join Jackson Wink in Albuquerque, N.M., Lester said he was cast out of the gym’s inner circle after confronting Jones over money.
“(Jones) did everything he could to s*it on me and my family,” Lester told MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
Jones, 32, has denied wrongdoing. In a response to the Lester’s post, he wrote that he never agreed to pay the coach $20,000—the amount in dispute—and claimed Lester was fired from the team for “drug issues.” He countered Lester’s threat to get physical “on site” by threatening to go to the police.
Former Jackson-Wink coach Frank Lester details money claim against UFC champ Jon Jones