War Machine (mixed martial artist)

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War Machine
Born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver
(1981-11-30) November 30, 1981 (age 43)
Simi Valley, California, United States
Other names Jon Koppenhaver
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division Welterweight
Reach 72 in (180 cm)
Style Muay Thai
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 knockout 0
By submission 4
By decision 1
Draws 0
Other information
University The Citadel
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

War Machine (born Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, November 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and pornographic actor.[1][2] In MMA, he competes in the welterweight division. He was a fighter on the The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra as part of Team Serra.

In 2008, he legally changed his name to "War Machine."[3] He is currently being held in High Desert State Prison, Nevada, on assault and attempted murder charges.[4]

Early life

Koppenhaver was born in Simi Valley, California. His German-American father was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department and his Mexican mother worked as a nurse, but she 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 thirteen, Koppenhaver unsuccessfully performed CPR on his father, only to witness him die during the process.[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, War Machine claimed that he had been earning high marks at The Citadel.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

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.[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

In Koppenhaver'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. Koppenhaver and Rollins both received $25,000 due to winning fight of the night honors and Koppenhaver 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. Koppenhaver 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 Koppenhaver stood by his statements.[13]

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.[14][15]

Independent Promotions (2009-2011)

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, 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 WM 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

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] Machine was expected to fight Karl Amoussou in the opening round of the welterweight tournament at Bellator 63. However, 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.

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 Mack.[26]

Adult film

War Machine
Born (1981-11-30) November 30, 1981 (age 43)
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, Machine revealed that he had signed with LA Direct Models and made his début 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 Christy Mack.[29]

Personal life

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

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.[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, War Machine 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 the San Diego's George Bailey Detention Facility and served time in solitary confinement.[37]

After going to jail, Machine maintained his Twitter account as well as a blog documenting his time in jail.[38] On February 1, 2012, it was announced via Machine's Twitter that he will 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 Koppenhaver 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 Koppenhaver who carried out the attack.[41] According to Mack, Koppenhaver also attempted to rape her.[42] On August 15, Koppenhaver was arrested in Simi Valley, California, by U.S. Marshals and Simi Valley police.[43] He is now being held in High Desert State Prison with his trial, originally scheduled for September 2015, postponed to summer 2016.[4][44]

Attempted suicide

According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Koppenhaver was found unresponsive in his cell on October 14, 2014 at around 9:30 p.m.[45] by a corrections officer conducting routine checks in the cells. 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 medical solitary confinement, 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.[46] The incident occurred on the same day he was supposed to appear in court to discuss a plea deal.[47][48]

Blog

Machine maintained a prison blog,[49] which was maintained by a friend who types out handwritten notes that Machine gives him.[50] On his blog, he has 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 … I'm not exaggerating either."[51]

Mixed martial arts record

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 9 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 9 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, United Kingdom
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 (strikes) 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 (strikes) 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 N/A Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 2–0 Frank Duffy Submission (rear-naked choke) Total Combat 4 July 25, 2004 1 N/A Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win 1–0 Angel Santibanez TKO (punch) Total Combat 2 February 29, 2004 1 1:00 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Championships and accomplishments

References

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  15. War Machine (Jon Koppenhaver) cut by Bellator Fighting Championships
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  38. War Machine's profile at Blogger.ca
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  42. Christy Mack describes alleged assault at the hands of former boyfriend, MMA fighter "War Machine", aka Jon Koppenhaver, news.com.au, August 12, 2014
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  44. Ex-fighter Koppenhaver gets judge to postpone trial, Las Vegas Sun, September 21, 2015
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  49. War Machine blogger profile
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  51. Week #25, Blogspot.com.au

External links