Professional fighter 'War Machine' arrested in L.A. area

[August 16, 2014]  By Dan Whitcomb
 
 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A professional fighter sought by authorities after his former girlfriend accused him of attacking her and a friend at her home in Las Vegas has been arrested in the Los Angeles area, officials said on Friday.

Jonathan Koppenhaver, also known by the name "War Machine" for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was taken into custody at a hotel in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley by U.S. Marshals and local police on Friday afternoon, the Simi Valley Police Department said in a statement.

Inside the room, officers found some money and pizza. Marshals turned the fighter over to police for booking, and he was transported to the Ventura County Jail, the statement said.

Police have not released the names of the alleged victims in the case but Koppenhaver's ex-girlfriend, porn actress Christy Mack, said on Twitter that she suffered 18 broken facial bones, a broken nose and rib and had her liver ruptured.

Mack, who posted photos of her injuries on social media, said Koppenhaver entered her Las Vegas home about 4 a.m. while she was with a friend, and immediately attacked the pair.
 

She said that Koppenhaver had beaten her "many times before, but never this badly."

Koppenhaver also responded to the allegations by social media. "The cops will never give me fair play, never believe me. Still deciding what to do but at the end of the day it's all just heart breaking," he posted on Twitter.

Meanwhile Dog the Bounty Hunter, whose show about chasing fugitives is carried on the A&E channel, said in a series of tweets that he and his bounty-hunting team were going to help Las Vegas authorities hunt down Koppenhaver.

Time is up! BEWARE OF THE DOG," one tweet read.

It was not clear if the television star played any role in Koppenhaver's capture.

Police have said he faces felony charges of domestic battery with substantial bodily harm, assault with a deadly weapon and battery by strangulation, police said.

Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion company that sponsored Koppenhaver, cut ties with him after news of the assault surfaced.

(Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in New York; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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