War Machine | |
---|---|
Born | Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver November 30, 1981 Simi Valley, California, U.S. |
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
Division | Welterweight |
Reach | 72.0 in (183 cm) |
Stance | Orthodox |
Fighting out of | San Diego, California |
Team | Team Undisputed |
Rank | Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu [1] |
Years active | 2004–2013 |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 19 |
Wins | 14 |
By knockout | 8 |
By submission | 6 |
Losses | 5 |
By submission | 4 |
By decision | 1 |
University | The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Criminal information | |
Status | Incarcerated |
Conviction(s) |
|
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 36 years |
Details | |
Injured | Christy Mack, Corey Thomas |
Weapon | Kitchen knife |
Date apprehended | August 15, 2014 |
Imprisoned at | High Desert State Prison, Nevada |
War Machine (born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver [lower-alpha 1] ; November 30, 1981) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. [3] [4] [5]
Koppenhaver had a 14–5 overall record in MMA fighting in various MMA promotions, including Bellator MMA and the UFC. He competed in the welterweight division. He was a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra as part of Team Serra and also competed for Bellator MMA, Tachi Palace Fights, BAMMA, and the Xtreme Fighting Championships. He also appeared in several pornographic films. [6]
In March 2017, Koppenhaver was convicted on 29 felony counts of rape, kidnapping, domestic battery, and other charges after sexually assaulting and beating his ex-girlfriend, pornographic film actress Christy Mack, and her then-boyfriend Corey Thomas in 2014. In June 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years. [1]
Koppenhaver was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley. His German-American father was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. His Mexican-American mother worked as a nurse and later became a work-at-home mother. [7] Due to his mother's drug addiction, Koppenhaver would often take care of his younger brother and sister. [7] When he was 13, Koppenhaver suffered a personal trauma when he unsuccessfully performed CPR on his father after he suffered a heart attack. [8]
In August 2000, Koppenhaver attended The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, for two years but was expelled for "poor behavior". [9] While attending, he majored in biology. [9] In an interview, Koppenhaver claimed that he had been earning high marks at The Citadel. [7]
Koppenhaver was a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra , fighting on Team Serra. He was not part of the original 16 fighters. [10] Instead, Koppenhaver was brought in as a replacement when Roman Mitichyan broke his elbow during evaluations and was sent home. [11] Koppenhaver lost by unanimous decision to Tom Speer. [12] After a dispute with TNA Wrestling over the use of his nickname, he legally changed his name from "Jon Koppenhaver" to "War Machine" in 2008. [13]
In War Machine's official UFC debut, he defeated Jared Rollins in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra Finale via KO at 2:01 of the third round. War Machine and Rollins both received $25,000 due to winning fight of the night honors and War Machine winning knockout of the night. His last UFC fight was at UFC 84 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida which he lost via submission in the first round. [14]
He was released from the UFC after rejecting a fight offered by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, and after comments made about the death of fellow UFC fighter Evan Tanner. War Machine posted on his Myspace that he believed that Tanner had gone to the isolated southern California desert to kill himself after he realized his career might have been over and basically had made no money during it. Medical examiners eventually ruled that Tanner's death was not a suicide, but War Machine stood by his statements. [15]
War Machine was signed and then released by Bellator Fighting Championships. His MySpace blog cited disparaging comments about Barack Obama as the cause for his non-participation in their upcoming tournament. [16] [ unreliable source? ] [17]
On June 20, 2009, War Machine was set to fight Roger Bowling. [18] They were then set to fight at XFC 9 in Tampa, Florida on September 5, where it was to be the main event and would broadcast live over HDNet's website. [19]
On September 5, 2009, War Machine stepped into the cage and faced off against Mikey Gomez. The ref stopped the fight, giving a somewhat controversial win to War Machine by TKO (punches), at 13 seconds in the third round. [20] War Machine was scheduled to fight October 3, 2009 against Jacob McClintock, but cancelled the fight so he could fight on October 8, 2009, against David Mitchell.
On April 17, 2010, he was set to face Tex Johnson in the main event of Wild Bill's Fight Night. [21] On April 16, TMZ.com reported that War Machine left a comment on his Twitter, stating he would not be turning up to the event for the fight. [22]
On December 7, 2011, it was announced that War Machine was re-signed to an exclusive deal with Bellator Fighting Championships and would be competing in its Season 6 Welterweight Tournament. [23] War Machine was expected to fight Karl Amoussou in the opening round of the welterweight tournament at Bellator 63. War Machine was sentenced to a year in prison for the prior assault in Las Vegas, Nevada from December 2009 and was forced out of the bout and the tournament. [24]
War Machine was set to make his Bellator debut on January 17, 2013, against Paul Daley when he tore his ACL and broke his fibula which forced him out of the fight. [25] War Machine faced Blas Avena at Bellator 96 on June 19, 2013. [26] He won via TKO due to punches in round one. War Machine then took part in Bellator MMA's Season Nine Welterweight Tournament at Bellator 100 against Vaughn Anderson in the Quarterfinals. [27] He won via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in the second round. War Machine then faced Ron Keslar on October 18, 2013, at Bellator 104 in the semifinals of the Season Nine Welterweight Tournament. He lost via technical submission due to a rear naked choke in the first round. On August 8, 2014, Bellator MMA announced the release of War Machine after he assaulted and raped his former girlfriend, pornographic film actress Christy Mack. [28]
On October 31, 2009, War Machine announced that he would pursue a career in pornographic films along with fighting mixed martial arts. [6] In his announcement, War Machine revealed that he had signed with LA Direct Models and made his debut scene with pornographic actress Riley Steele. [6] War Machine was featured in the January 2014 issue of Hustler magazine in a nude pictorial with Christy Mack. [29]
On September 2, 2007, Koppenhaver was found guilty of striking a Las Vegas man in the face and choking him unconscious during a parking lot scuffle. [30] In February 2008, he was sentenced to three years of probation and 30 days of community service, avoiding the possible felony charge and accompanying prison time. [30] On February 22, 2008, Koppenhaver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery, and was fined and sentenced to probation. [31]
In August 2010, Koppenhaver was sentenced to one year in the county jail for a felony assault conviction stemming from a fight at a Point Loma bar earlier in the year, as well as an additional fight at a bar in Pacific Beach, San Diego. [32] [33] He was imprisoned in San Diego's George Bailey County Detention Facility, mostly in solitary confinement. After going to jail, War Machine maintained his Twitter account as well as a blog documenting his time in jail. [34] On February 1, 2012, it was announced via Koppenhaver's Twitter that he would be serving another year of jail time due to preceding events. He was released on October 29, 2012, after serving two years and two months. He was released out of solitary confinement. [35] [36]
Sometime in April 2013, Koppenhaver began dating adult film actress Christy Mack. [37] [38] Mack, nearly 10 years Koppenhaver's junior, was a leading figure in the adult film industry at the time. She described their relationship as passionate, but also said Koppenhaver was physically and mentally abusive and controlling. On August 8, 2014, Koppenhaver brutally assaulted Mack and her then-boyfriend Corey Thomas in Mack's home in Las Vegas. He targeted Thomas first and attacked him for 10 minutes. Koppenhaver then put Thomas in a chokehold, only to be let go after he was made to swear not to go to the authorities. After Thomas escaped, Koppenhaver then set upon Mack, whom he assaulted for two full hours. [39] Koppenhaver raped Mack, cut her with a knife and severely beat her. Mack only managed to escape via a balcony once Koppenhaver's back was turned, after which she went to the house of a neighbor, who promptly called 911. Mack was hospitalized, where it was found that she suffered 18 broken facial bones, a broken nose, 12 missing teeth, a fractured rib and critically ruptured liver. [40]
On August 15, Koppenhaver, who had managed to elude the authorities while on the run for a week, was apprehended after posting self-pitying tweets, which enabled authorities to trace the IP location of his cell phone. Koppenhaver was arrested in Simi Valley, California, by U.S. Marshals and Simi Valley police after resisting arrest, and was then extradited to Nevada where he was charged with 36 felony counts, including multiple attempted murder, kidnapping, rape and sexual assault charges. [41] According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Koppenhaver was found unresponsive in his cell by a corrections officer. [42] [43] The cell officer found Koppenhaver struggling to breathe, with a torn piece of linen around his neck that was tied to the leg of his bunk bed. After the officer cut the linen, Koppenhaver's vitals stabilized within 15 minutes, and he was moved to a medical ward, where he was placed on suicide watch. In a suicide note found in his cell, he quoted philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche twice to explain his actions. [44] [ better source needed ] The incident occurred on the same day he was supposed to appear in court to discuss a plea deal. [45] [46]
His trial, originally scheduled for September 2015, was postponed twice before beginning in February 2017. [47] [48] [49] On March 20, 2017, he was convicted on 29 of 36 felony counts, including kidnapping and sexual assault with a weapon, for which he faced life in prison. The jury deadlocked on two counts of attempted murder. [50] Koppenhaver was represented by Jay Leiderman and Brandon Sua. [51] On June 5, 2017, Koppenhaver was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole after 36 years. [52]
19 matches | 14 wins | 5 losses |
By knockout | 8 | 0 |
By submission | 6 | 4 |
By decision | 0 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 14–5 | Ron Keslar | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bellator 104 | October 18, 2013 | 1 | 3:31 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States | Bellator Season Nine Welterweight Tournament Semifinal. |
Win | 14–4 | Vaughn Anderson | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bellator 100 | September 20, 2013 | 2 | 4:01 | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | Bellator Season Nine Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
Win | 13–4 | Blas Avena | TKO (punches) | Bellator 96 | June 19, 2013 | 1 | 3:55 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |
Win | 12–4 | Roger Huerta | TKO (punches) | UWF 1: Huerta vs. War Machine | November 26, 2011 | 3 | 3:09 | Pharr, Texas, United States | |
Loss | 11–4 | John Alessio | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | TPF 5: Stars and Strikes | July 9, 2010 | 3 | 2:24 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 11–3 | Zach Light | Submission (rear-naked choke) | BAMMA 3 | May 15, 2010 | 1 | 1:09 | Birmingham, England | |
Loss | 10–3 | David Mitchell | Decision (split) | TPF 1: Tachi Palace Fights 1 | October 8, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 10–2 | Mikey Gomez | TKO (punches) | XFC 9: Evolution | September 5, 2009 | 3 | 0:13 | Tampa, Florida, United States | |
Win | 9–2 | Erick Montano | Submission (armbar) | Total Combat 33 | July 11, 2009 | 3 | 0:47 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
Win | 8–2 | Tim Woods | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UWC 6: Capital Punishment | April 25, 2009 | 2 | 4:16 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
Win | 7–2 | Guillaume DeLorenzi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | XMMA 7: Inferno | February 27, 2009 | 1 | 4:13 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
Win | 6–2 | David Anderson | KO (punches) | Desert Rage 4 | November 8, 2008 | 1 | 2:26 | Yuma, Arizona, United States | |
Loss | 5–2 | Yoshiyuki Yoshida | Technical Submission (anaconda choke) | UFC 84 | May 24, 2008 | 1 | 0:56 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
Win | 5–1 | Jared Rollins | KO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale | December 8, 2007 | 3 | 2:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Knockout of the Night. Fight of the Night. |
Win | 4–1 | RJ Gamez | TKO (punches) | Total Combat 16: Annihilation | September 9, 2006 | 1 | 2:09 | San Diego, California, United States | |
Loss | 3–1 | Mike O'Donnell | Submission (armbar) | GFC: Team Gracie vs Team Hammer House | March 3, 2006 | 2 | 4:02 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |
Win | 3–0 | Andrew Ramirez | TKO (corner stoppage) | Total Combat 9 | July 30, 2005 | 1 | 1:08 | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | |
Win | 2–0 | Frank Duffy | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Total Combat 4 | July 25, 2004 | 1 | 0:25 | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico | |
Win | 1–0 | Angel Santibanez | TKO (punch) | Total Combat 2 | February 29, 2004 | 1 | 1:00 | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico |
Jason Miller, best known as Mayhem Miller, is an American former mixed martial arts fighter and TV host. Miller coaches fighters in Los Angeles, California, at Mayhem Martial Arts and has trained extensively with Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, California. He has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, WFA, WEC and DREAM. Miller was the host of MTV's reality series Bully Beatdown.
Jon Fitch is an American retired mixed martial artist. He has competed in the Welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and most recently for Bellator MMA. In the UFC, Fitch compiled a record of 14–3–1 and once challenged for the UFC Welterweight Championship. In the PFL, Fitch achieved championship success when he won the PFL Welterweight Championship, and he also once challenged for the Bellator MMA Welterweight World Championship.
Joshua Martin Neer is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2003, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL, and Shark Fights. Neer is the former Shark Fights Interim Welterweight Champion.
Josh Koscheck is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter and fought for the company 25 times from 2005–2015, compiling a UFC record of 15–10. He was a runner up for the UFC Welterweight Title.
Jorge Luis Masvidal is an American professional boxer and former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions. Masvidal competed professionally for 20 years from 2003 until 2023, having fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator, Strikeforce, Shark Fights, and World Victory Road. He holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history at five seconds, and won the symbolic UFC "BMF" Championship belt.
Benjamin Saunders, is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Welterweight division. He was a featured fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra. A professional competitor since 2004, Saunders has formerly competed in the UFC and Bellator.
Chael Sonnen is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he became a top contender in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions and challenged for both the UFC Light Heavyweight and UFC Middleweight Championships. Sonnen has also fought in World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and most recently for Bellator MMA. Sonnen is often considered one of the best mixed martial artists never to have won a major MMA world championship and one of the sport's greatest trash-talkers.
John Paul Alessio is a Canadian retired professional mixed martial artist. A former competitor in Bellator's Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1998, Alessio has also formerly competed for the UFC where he was a former Welterweight title challenger, the WEC, PRIDE, King of the Cage, MFC and DREAM. Alessio is also the former King of the Cage Welterweight Champion and King of the Cage Superfight Champion.
Quinton Ramone Jackson, known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, Jackson won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, the Bellator Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament Championship, and unified the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with the Pride FC World Middleweight Championship belt. Due to his eccentric personality and aggressive fighting style, Jackson became a star in Japan during his tenure with Pride FC and following his move to the UFC, he helped pioneer MMA's growth into a worldwide sport.
Paul Anthony Daley is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the UFC, Bellator, K-1, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Final Fight Championship, EliteXC, ShoXC, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, Cage Contender, Shark Fights, Pancrase, and Impact FC. Daley is a former Cage Rage World Welterweight Champion and Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion and a Strikeforce title challenger.
Brandon W.K. Wolff is an American mixed martial artist and former Navy SEAL, who is perhaps best known for his short stint in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship nicknamed “Killer Bee”.
Lyman Merrill Good, also known as "American Cyborg", is an American mixed martial artist. He is perhaps best known for his time spent with Bellator, where he was the inaugural Bellator Welterweight Champion, and for competing in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Karl Amoussou is a French-German professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Cage Warriors, where he is the current Welterweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also formerly competed for Strikeforce, DREAM, M-1 Global, Pancrase and Bellator MMA.
Rory MacDonald is a Canadian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Prior to signing with the PFL, MacDonald competed for Bellator MMA, where he is a former Bellator Welterweight World Champion. Having been a professional competitor since 2005, MacDonald was a top contender in the UFC with an overall UFC record of 9–4, and challenged for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 189 against then-champion Robbie Lawler. He is also a former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion.
Phil Kwabina Davis is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes as a Light Heavyweight for Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Davis competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he achieved success as a top 5 Light Heavyweight contender and held a UFC record of 9–3 (1). He is currently ranked as the #7 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world by ranking site Fight Matrix. Davis first gained athletic notoriety in college as a wrestler for Penn State University, where he became an NCAA Division I champion in 2008.
Lorenz Larkin is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, Larkin formerly competed for Strikeforce and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Christy Mack is an American model and former pornographic actress.
Abdul Razak Alhassan is a Ghanaian mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he formerly fought in Bellator and Legacy Fighting Championship.
Gabriel Green is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Chidi Godson Njokuani is an American mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer, who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2007, he also formerly competed for Bellator MMA, RFA, Tachi Palace Fights, and Legacy FC.