Former UFC Fighter War Machine Sentenced To Life For Kidnap, Sexual Assault of Ex-Girlfriend
Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, a former UFC fighter known as War Machine, has been sentenced to life in prison after he kidnapped, sexually assaulted and beat his ex-girlfriend in 2014.
Koppenhaver, 35, was convicted in March in Las Vegas for 29 felonies after attacking Christy Mack and her friend Corey Thomas, after he found the two together in her bedroom.
The former MMA fighter will not be eligible for parole until he is 71, but Mack, who suffered a lacerated liver, broken rib and lost two teeth in the assault, told District Judge Elissa Cadish that she would fear for her life when Koppenhaver is released.
"I don't know if my life will feel complete in 12 years or 30 years and neither do you, but I do know when he gets out he will kill me," Mack said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Koppenhaver, who was involved in 19 MMA fights and also worked as a pornographic actor, blamed anxiety and depression on his behavior. He said he regretted his actions and claimed to have been a "very, very lost, very empty person."
In a statement, he said: "I should have killed myself by now. There's no reason right now that I shouldn't be in the dirt right now laying next to Aaron Hernandez. That's 100 percent true." Ex-NFL player Hernandez killed himself in prison while serving a life sentence for killing a man who was dating his fiancee's sister.
Koppenhaver added: "Something's not right with my head. Plain and simple. I've known that a long time and I've hated it. I've hated the way that I think. I've hated my impulses. Half the time, I don't know why I do some the things I do. And some of the times I do things and I don't even feel like I did them until it's already done."
