ThePainFactory

Jon Koppenhaver charged with choking, hitting man in S.D.
By Angelica Martinez
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metr ... fight.html
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

1:28 p.m. December 13, 2007

SAN DIEGO – Jon Koppenhaver, known as “War Machine” from Spike TV's reality series “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” appeared before a Superior Court judge Thursday on felony assault and battery charges.

The professional cage-fighter is accused of hitting and choking a Las Vegas man unconscious and hitting him in the face outside San Diego's Undisputed fitness and training center early Sept. 2.


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During Thursday's preliminary hearing, Darren Zatkow testified that he was visiting San Diego with his then-girlfriend when he was assaulted outside the club after a night of drinks on the town.

He said he was confronted by a group of men without shirts who surrounded him as he left the club. He said he was grabbed in a carotid choke hold and dragged a few feet from his friends by one of the men. Zatkow said he did not see who grabbed him from behind.

Zatkow, who practices martial arts but has never competed in tournaments, said he became unconscious 10 seconds after he was choked and regained consciousness moments later.

Friends of Zatkow's who testified said he was punched in the face while he lay unconscious on the ground. Zatkow, however, said he was not aware of the punch until after he became conscious and felt the pain in his face.

San Diego Police Detective Fernando Ramirez said a Las Vegas doctor who saw Zatkow days after the assault determined that the facial blow caused four fractures to his left eye socket. The injuries could cause temporary or permanent nerve damage, Ramirez said. The extent of the injury is not yet known because Zatkow is still recovering, he said.

A New York man who was in San Diego at the time testified for the defense that he saw Koppenhaver hold Zatkow during the confrontation outside, but he said the person responsible for the assault was another one of the men standing outside the club.

Koppenhaver, 26, of Simi Valley, is skilled in mixed martial arts, according to his profile on the Ultimate Fighting Championship Web site, and also is a resident trainer for San Diego's Undisputed club.

Last week, he won with a technical knockout against Jared Rollins in the third round of Spike TV's Ultimate Fighter Finale held in Nevada.

The preliminary hearing was expected to continue later Thursday. If the case goes to trial and Koppenhaver is convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, said prosecutor David Williams.

More info.... He has plead guilty

scr: http://www.fox6.com/mostpopular/story.a ... 18146578b7

A professional mixed martial artist who appeared as a fighter on the Spike TV series "The Ultimate Fighter," pleaded guilty Thursday to hitting and choking a man outside a San Diego fight club this summer.

Jon Koppenhaver, known as War Machine on the series, entered his plea after a preliminary hearing in San Diego Superior Court.

Koppenhaver, 26, pleaded guilty to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and could face up to a year in jail when he is sentenced Feb. 7.

However, Judge Frank Brown said he may consider reducing the felony conviction to a misdemeanor if there are no surprises in the defendant's background or a psychological report.

Darren Zatkow testified at the preliminary hearing that he was surrounded by a group of men as he left the Undisputed fight club in North Park on Sept. 2.

The witness said he was choked unconscious by one of the men and punched in the face while on the ground.

A doctor who examined Zatkow days after the incident said the victim had four fractures to his left eye socket, according to court testimony.

Is it just me or does it seem like people only get into street fights when they have a group of friends around? We are, of course, only hearing one side of the story but it is sooo uncool for a group of guys to pick a fight with a guy in front of his girl.