MMA fighter accused of beating ex-girlfriend won’t contest transfer back to Vegas

LAS VEGAS – War Machine, a mixed martial arts fighter accused of brutally beating his porn star ex-girlfriend in Las Vegas and fleeing to the Los Angeles area, told a California judge he won’t contest his transfer in custody back to Nevada.

Ventura County sheriff’s Capt. Don Aguilar said the fighter, whose birth name is Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, waived extradition on Tuesday following his arrest Friday at a hotel in Simi Valley.

The 32-year-old Koppenhaver is accused of beating 23-year-old Christy Mack so badly that she feared for her life.

Mack said in a statement last week that Koppenhaver showed up unannounced at her house on Aug. 8, found her and a friend unarmed, and beat the friend without uttering a word.

READ MORE: Warrant issued for MMA fighter accused of attacking ex-girlfriend in Las Vegas

Koppenhaver then sent the friend away and turned to Mack, forcing her to shower before knocking out some of her teeth and breaking bones in her face, the statement said.

She wrote that she feared for her life as he sawed off her hair with a dull knife.

Mack said she was able to escape out a back door and run naked through her neighbourhood, knocking on doors until someone helped
her get to a hospital.

Koppenhaver had been abusive in the past and broke up with her in May, she said.

“After many months of fear and pressure to keep this man happy, I feel that I can no longer put myself in this situation,” Mack wrote.

Koppenhaver was sought on a warrant issued after Las Vegas authorities accused him of felony battery, assault, lewdness and coercion.

The welterweight fighter made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in 2007. He lost his only pay-per-view bout in 2008 and went on to fight for a variety of promotions over the past five years.

His criminal record includes a 2012 conviction for attempt to commit battery with substantial bodily harm.

Aguilar says he’ll be transferred to Las Vegas soon but didn’t specify a date.