MMA manager Jason House charged with battery after allegedly punching father in business dispute

Prominent MMA manager Jason House is facing a felony charge of battery with substantial bodily harm after allegedly punching his father during a business dispute at a restaurant in Mesquite, Nev.

Jason House, the CEO of Iridium Sports Agency and manager of UFC flyweight champ Brandon Moreno, is accused of punching his father Kevin House multiple times, sending him to the hospital for injuries that, per MMA Junkie, required a 500 mL blood transfusion and 18 stitches and caused concussion-like symptoms.

According to an incident report of the alleged battery, Mesquite police were called to a local hospital on a domestic battery report and interviewed Kevin and his wife, Beth House. The two described a business meeting at the 1880 Grille restaurant with Jason and his wife, Alyssa Sandoval, that allegedly became violent over a decrease in Kevin’s share of the MMA management business. Kevin later told police that Jason switched his percentage when the business moved from California to Nevada.

Kevin House said his son was “angry and verbally aggressive” from the meeting’s outset and pointed a finger at Beth House’s face, saying the dispute was “all her fault.” When he pushed away the finger, he said House stood up and punched him before he could block the strike. Beth House said Jason House landed multiple punches, knocking Kevin back into the booth where they sat, and quickly left afterward with Alyssa Sandoval.

Jason House, via an Iridium spokesperson, declined comment when contacted by MMA Fighting. In a statement released to MMA Junkie, Iridium legal rep Phillip R. Erwin, said “we categorically reject Kevin’s claim that his 20 percent membership interest in the business has been changed by Jason in any way.”

“Kevin continues to own the 20 percent membership interest in Iridium Sports Agency that Jason, as the founder and sole member of the company, gifted to him in 2011,” Erwin continued. “To the extent Kevin pursues legal action related to his minority interest in Iridium Sports Agency, we look forward to defending those claims in court and proving that Kevin’s treatment has been more than fair under the law.”

Police later interviewed multiple witnesses who were at the scene of the alleged battery, including a waitress who served the family, a bystander who attempted to verbally intervene, and a manager who said the incident wasn’t caught on camera. The bystander identified Jason House out of a photo lineup and said he saw the manager stand up from the restaurant booth, take a “fighter stance” and punch “downward” on Kevin House, who the bystander said was punched again after he tried to get out of the booth.

In a follow-up interview with police, Kevin House, who described his son as a UFC manager and “trained fighter,” said he believed the attack was “premeditated” after talking with his younger son, Jaime Garcia House. The fighter said his younger son had told him Jason was wanting to strike him “as soon as he saw him.” Jaime Garcia House later told police he “wasn’t surprised” the incident had happened because Jason had “mentioned many times before he wanted to punch out or knock out his father” – including as recently as one month earlier. An attempt by police to reach Jason House was unsuccessful.

The detective investigating the alleged battery wrote in the incident report that “due to the injuries and prolonged pain Kevin received from his son’s punches,” an affidavit for an arrest warrant would be forwarded to the Clark County (Nev.) District Attorney.

Per online court records, that arrest warrant was issued Sept. 23. A judge granted a motion to allow Jason House a “walkthrough release on own recognizance” from jail, and per MMA Junkie, Kevin House later was granted a temporary protective order against his son. A no contact order was subsequently modified to so the father and son could phone and text each other due to their business ties.

Jason House manages dozens of high-profile MMA athletes. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 8. Felony battery without use of a deadly weapon carries a potential sentence of 1-5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine; battery with a deadly weapon ups the potential penalty to 1-15 years in prison.