Other names Jon Koppenhaver Reach 72 in (180 cm) Height 1.80 m Nationality American Martial art Freestyle fighting | Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Name War Machine Role Mixed Martial Artist | |
Born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver November 30, 1981 (age 42) Simi Valley, California, United States ( 1981-11-30 ) Profiles | ||
Fighting out of San Diego, California | ||
Bamma 3 war machine vs zach light
War Machine (born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, November 30, 1981) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, pornographic actor and convicted felon. In MMA, 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. In 2008, he legally changed his name to "War Machine".
Contents
- Bamma 3 war machine vs zach light
- Early life
- The Ultimate Fighter Season Six
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Bellator Fighting Championships
- Independent Promotions 2009 2011
- Return to Bellator Fighting Championships
- Adult film
- Personal life
- Arrests and convictions
- Attempted suicide
- Blog
- Championships and accomplishments
- References
In March 2017, he was convicted on 29 felony counts after assaulting his ex-girlfriend during a 2014 incident. He was sentenced to life in prison on June 5, 2017, with a possibility of parole after 36 years.
Early life
Koppenhaver was born in Simi Valley, California. His German-American father was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, while his Mexican mother worked as a nurse and later became a work-at-home mother. Due to his mother's drug addiction, Koppenhaver would often take care of his younger brother and sister. When he was 13, Koppenhaver unsuccessfully performed CPR on his father.
In August 2000, Koppenhaver attended The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina for two years before being expelled for "poor behavior". While attending, he majored in biology. In an interview, Koppenhaver claimed that he had been earning high marks at The Citadel.
The Ultimate Fighter Season Six
Koppenhaver was a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra. However, he was not part of the original sixteen fighters initially picked for the show. Instead, Koppenhaver was brought in as a replacement when Roman Mitichyan broke his elbow during evaluations and was sent home. Koppenhaver lost by unanimous decision to Tom Speer.
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.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
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.
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 had basically made no money during it. Medical examiners eventually proved that Tanner's death was not a suicide, but War Machine stood by his statements.
Bellator Fighting Championships
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.
Independent Promotions (2009-2011)
On June 20, 2009, War Machine was set to fight Roger Bowling. 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.com.
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. 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. However, on April 16, it had been reported on TMZ.com that War Machine left a comment on his Twitter saying he would not be turning up to the event for the fight.
Return to Bellator Fighting Championships
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 their Season 6 Welterweight Tournament. War Machine was expected to fight Karl Amoussou in the opening round of the welterweight tournament at Bellator 63. However, 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.
He was set to make his Bellator Debut on January 17, 2013 against Paul Daley, however he tore his ACL and broke his fibula which forced him out of the fight.
War Machine faced Blas Avena at Bellator 96 on June 19, 2013. 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. 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 allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, Christy Mack.
Adult film
On October 31, 2009, War Machine announced that he would pursue a career in pornographic films along with fighting mixed martial arts. In his announcement, War Machine revealed that he had signed with LA Direct Models and made his début scene with pornographic actress Riley Steele. Between 2009 and 2010, War Machine appeared in twelve adult films. War Machine was featured in the January 2014 issue of Hustler Magazine in a nude pictorial with porn actress and then-girlfriend Christy Mack.
Personal life
War Machine was previously in a relationship with porn star Christy Mack.
Arrests and convictions
On September 2, 2007, he was found guilty of striking a Las Vegas man in the face and choking him unconscious during a parking lot scuffle. 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.
On February 22, 2008, Koppenhaver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery, and was fined and sentenced to probation.
In August 2010, War Machine 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 Pacific Beach bar. He was imprisoned in San Diego's George Bailey Detention Facility and served time in solitary confinement.
After going to jail, War Machine maintained his Twitter account as well as a blog documenting his time in jail. On February 1, 2012, it was announced via War Machine's Twitter that he would be serving another year of jail time, due to preceding events. He was released on October 29, 2012.
On August 8, 2014, Christy Mack and associate Corey Thomas were assaulted by War Machine in her Las Vegas home. Mack was taken to the hospital where it was found that she suffered from 18 broken bones, a broken nose, missing teeth, a fractured rib and a ruptured liver. Mack alleged that it was War Machine who carried out the attack. According to Mack, War Machine also attempted to rape her. On August 15, War Machine was arrested in Simi Valley, California, by U.S. Marshals and Simi Valley police. His trial, originally scheduled for September 2015, was postponed twice before beginning in February 2017. On March 20, 2017, he was convicted on 29 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. War Machine was represented by Jay Leiderman and Brandon Sua. On June 5, 2017, War Machine was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole after 36 years has been served.
Attempted suicide
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, War Machine was found unresponsive in his cell on October 14, 2014 at around 9:30 p.m. by a corrections officer conducting routine checks in the cells. The cell officer found War Machine 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, War Machine's vitals stabilized within 15 minutes, and he was moved to medical, where he was placed on suicide watch. A suicide note found in his cell, but no details were released. The incident occurred on the same day he was supposed to appear in court to discuss a plea deal.
Blog
War Machine maintained a prison blog with the assistance of a friend who typed out handwritten notes provided by War Machine. On his blog, War Machine reportedly claimed that "The oppression of MEN is worse than oppression of Jews in Nazi germany, worse than the slavery of Blacks in early America."