UFC Pioneer Harold Howard Arrested After Multiple Assaults, Driving Truck Into Casino

For once, it would be nice to hear a news story about an old-school UFC competitor that didn’t involve a horrible crime or a death hoax. Ah, well. The Niagara Falls Review is reporting that 51-year-old martial artist Harold Howard — who compiled a 2-3 MMA record from 1994-1996, including a victory via forfeit over Royce Gracie at UFC 3 — was arrested last night after a Quinton Jackson-esque vehicular freak-out. Here’s what Howard has been accused of doing:

– Assaulting a male and a female with a weapon following a dispute at a residence, then fleeing the scene in his pick-up truck.

– Smashing into another vehicle in the driveway of a different residence, then taking off again.

– Evading police when they caught up to Howard and tried to pull him over.

– Intentionally driving his truck into the front doors of the Fallsview Casino, where he came to a stop a short distance from the gaming floor.

– Failing to double-down on 11.

Said Niagara Regional Police Staff Sgt. Shawn Clarkson: “Thank God it wasn’t a Friday night. We were extremely fortunate not more people were around. A couple of people had to duck out of the way, but we could of had some real serious problems there if it had been a few hours earlier or another day…There were serious injuries [to the victims of the initial assaults], but not life-threatening at this point. There were head injuries and lacerations to arms and hands. They were taken to hospital and tests were being done.”

Howard might be looking at serious jail time considering all the charges he picked up — two counts of attempted murder (!), two counts of assault with a weapon, attempted break and enter, fail to remain, flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, mischief and two counts of breach of recognizance.

A photo of the casino crime scene is below. In the immortal words of Howard himself, “I told you if it worked it worked, and it did and I didn’t, so in the end it didn’t.”