War Machine (mixed martial artist)

War Machine

Born
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver
November 30, 1981 (age 35)
Simi Valley, California, United States

Other names
Jon Koppenhaver

Nationality
American

Height
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Weight
170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)

Division
Welterweight

Reach
72 in (180 cm)

Fighting out of
San Diego, California

Team
Team Undisputed

Rank
Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

War Machine (born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, November 30, 1981) is an American
former professional mixed martial artist and pornographic actor.[1][2] 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".[3]

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.[4]

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Mixed martial arts career 2.1 The Ultimate Fighter Season Six
2.2 Ultimate Fighting Championship
2.3 Bellator Fighting Championships
2.4 Independent Promotions (2009-2011)
2.5 Return to Bellator Fighting Championships

3 Adult film
4 Personal life 4.1 Arrests and convictions
4.2 Attempted suicide
4.3 Blog

5 Mixed martial arts record

6 Championships and accomplishments
7 References
8 External links

Early life[edit]

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.[5] Due to his mother's drug
addiction, Koppenhaver would often take care of his younger brother and sister.[5]
When he was 13, Koppenhaver unsuccessfully performed CPR on his father.[6]

In August 2000, Koppenhaver attended The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina for
two years before being expelled for "poor behavior".[7] While attending, he majored
in biology.[7] In an interview, Koppenhaver claimed that he had been earning high
marks at The Citadel.[5]

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

The Ultimate Fighter Season Six[edit]

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.[8] Instead, Koppenhaver was brought in as a
replacement when Roman Mitichyan broke his elbow during evaluations and was sent
home.[9] Koppenhaver lost by unanimous decision to Tom Speer.[10]

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.[11]

Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]

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.[12]

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.[13]

Bellator Fighting Championships[edit]

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.[14][15]

Independent Promotions (2009-2011)[edit]

On June 20, 2009, War Machine was set to fight Roger Bowling.[16] 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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]

Return to Bellator Fighting Championships[edit]

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.[21] 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.
[22]

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.[23]
War Machine faced Blas Avena at Bellator 96 on June 19, 2013.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26]

Adult film[edit]

War Machine

Born
November 30, 1981 (age 35)
Simi Valley, California

Height
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)

Weight
170 lb (77 kg)

No. of adult films

12 as actor

On October 31, 2009, War Machine announced that he would pursue a career in
pornographic films along with fighting mixed martial arts.[27] In his announcement,
War Machine revealed that he had signed with LA Direct Models and made his dbut
scene with pornographic actress Riley Steele.[27] Between 2009 and 2010, War
Machine appeared in twelve adult films.[28] War Machine was featured in the January
2014 issue of Hustler Magazine in a nude pictorial with porn actress and then-
girlfriend Christy Mack.[29]

Personal life[edit]

War Machine was previously in a relationship with porn star Christy Mack.[30][31]
[32]

Arrests and convictions[edit]

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.[33] 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.[33]

On February 22, 2008, Koppenhaver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault

and battery, and was fined and sentenced to probation.[34]

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.[35][36] He was
imprisoned in San Diego's George Bailey Detention Facility and served time in
solitary confinement.[37]

After going to jail, War Machine maintained his Twitter account as well as a blog
documenting his time in jail.[38] 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.[39]

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.[40] Mack alleged that it was War Machine who carried out
the attack.[41] According to Mack, War Machine also attempted to rape her.[42] On
August 15, War Machine was arrested in Simi Valley, California, by U.S. Marshals
and Simi Valley police.[43] His trial, originally scheduled for September 2015, was
postponed twice before beginning in February 2017.[44][45][46] On March 20, 2017,
he was convicted on 29 felony counts, including kidnapping and sexual assault with
a weapon, for which he faces life in prison. The jury deadlocked on two counts of
attempted murder.[47] Koppenhaver is represented by Jay Leiderman and Brandon Sua.
[48] 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.[49]

Attempted suicide[edit]

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.[50] 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. In a suicide note found in his cell, he quoted philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche twice to explain his actions.[51] The incident occurred on the
same day he was supposed to appear in court to discuss a plea deal.[52][53]

Blog[edit]

War Machine maintained a prison blog[54] with the assistance of a friend who typed
out handwritten notes provided by War Machine.[55] 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."[56]

Loss 145 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 144 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 134 Blas Avena TKO (punches) Bellator 96 June 19, 2013 1 3:55 Thackerville,
Oklahoma, United States
Win 124 Roger Huerta TKO (punches) UWF 1: Huerta vs. War Machine November 26, 2011
3 3:09 Pharr, Texas, United States
Loss 114 John Alessio Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) TPF 5: Stars and
Strikes July 9, 2010 3 2:24 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 113 Zach Light Submission (rear-naked choke) BAMMA 3 May 15, 2010 1 1:09
Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Loss 103 David Mitchell Decision (split) TPF 1: Tachi Palace Fights 1 October 8,
2009 3 5:00 Lemoore, California, United States
Win 102 Mikey Gomez TKO (strikes) XFC 9: Evolution September 5, 2009 3 0:13 Tampa,
Florida, United States
Win 92 Erick Montano Submission (armbar) Total Combat 33 July 11, 2009 3 0:47
Mexico City, Mexico
Win 82 Tim Woods Submission (rear-naked choke) UWC 6: Capital Punishment April 25,
2009 2 4:16 Fairfax, Virginia, United States
Win 72 Guillaume DeLorenzi Submission (rear-naked choke) XMMA 7: Inferno February
27, 2009 1 4:13 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 62 David Anderson KO (punches) Desert Rage 4 November 8, 2008 1 2:26 Yuma,
Arizona, United States
Loss 52 Yoshiyuki Yoshida Technical Submission (anaconda choke) UFC 84 May 24,
2008 1 0:56 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 51 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 41 RJ Gamez TKO (strikes) Total Combat 16: Annihilation September 9, 2006 1
2:09 San Diego, California, United States
Loss 31 Mike O'Donnell Submission (armbar) GFC: Team Gracie vs Team Hammer House
March 3, 2006 2 4:02 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win 30 Andrew Ramirez TKO (corner stoppage) Total Combat 9 July 30, 2005 1 N/A
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 20 Frank Duffy Submission (rear-naked choke) Total Combat 4 July 25, 2004 1
N/A Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 10 Angel Santibanez TKO (punch) Total Combat 2 February 29, 2004 1 1:00
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico