Former UFC fighter Josh Grispi has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison after being convicted of charges stemming from “the worst case of domestic abuse” one officer on the case had ever seen. The Hingham Patch had word of the verdict following a five day jury trial that unfolded earlier this week. The verdict brings to a close one of the more disturbing footnotes in recent MMA history.
Grispi (14–5), who fought at featherweight and went 0-4 in the UFC after a strong run in WEC, was convicted of “seven counts of improper storage of a firearm, five counts of assault and battery, two counts of threatening to commit a crime, eight counts of witness intimidation, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, and attempt to procure perjury.” That lengthy list had the D.A. in the case asking for up to ten years in prison. Ultimately, Grispi was handed down the five and a half year sentence, followed by five years of probation.
The charges came after Grispi assaulted his wife during an incident in 2014, causing her to flee and hide under a bush. The former fighter “then grabbed the victim and began to punch her repeatedly in the head before forcing her into the house.” At that point, Grispi continued to assault her, screaming “Do you want me to kill you?” repeatedly. Eventually, Grispi’s wife managed to flee to a neighbor’s and take refuge there as police were called.
At the time of the assault, the victim already had an emergency restraining order against Grispi.
Josh Grispi had not fought in the UFC (or anywhere else) since a unanimous decision loss to Andy Ogle at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in February 2013. Prior to his UFC run, he compiled a 4-0 record in WEC that included wins over Jens Pulver and Mark Hominick.
