The fitness influencer pleaded guilty to aggravated battery after a 2024 fight at Elevation Fitness.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Fitness influencer Wes Watson is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to aggravated battery in a 2024 gym beating captured on surveillance video released by prosecutors this week.
Watson, 42, entered the plea last Thursday in Miami-Dade court under an agreement with prosecutors. The case centers on a Dec. 29, 2024, confrontation at Elevation Fitness on North Miami Avenue. Prosecutors offered a sentence of 21 months in prison, with credit for time served, followed by seven years of probation and mental health treatment.
Arrest documents said Watson told officers he was working out when another man approached him and said he wanted to fight. Defense attorney Eric Clayman said in court that the case had included arguments tied to “stand your ground.” Clayman said the man came to the gym because of Watson’s online profile and had traveled from New Jersey to confront him.
Investigators said surveillance video showed Watson hitting the man with a weightlifting belt during the altercation. The footage also appeared to show other men joining in as the man was on the ground. Body camera video released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office showed Watson speaking with responding officers afterward and saying he had been defending himself.
The victim suffered a face fracture, a concussion and two black eyes, according to reports citing case records. Attorneys for the victim said the guilty plea was an important step toward accountability and said they planned to continue a civil case. Watson’s plea resolved the Miami-Dade criminal charge, but it did not end his other legal issues.
Records show Watson is a convicted felon and is facing unrelated charges in Broward County, including felony battery, aggravated assault, witness tampering and allegations tied to a domestic violence case involving his girlfriend. Those Broward cases remain separate from the Miami-Dade gym case.
Watson is scheduled to return to court July 27 for sentencing in the Miami-Dade case. His defense team has sought a shorter prison term than the sentence offered in the plea agreement.
Author note: Last updated July 9, 2026.