Las Vegas Police have identified recently released Bellator welterweight War Machine as the primary suspect of an alleged attack on the fighter’s ex-girlfriend, Christy Mack, along with an additional unnamed victim, which took place in the early morning on Friday, August 8.
Mack released the following statement on Monday, which detailed her side of the alleged incident and included photos of her injuries (which can be seen at the bottom of this page).
At around 2 am Friday morning, John Koppenhaver arrived unannounced to my home in Las Vegas, NV, after he broke up with me in May, he moved out of my house and back to San Diego. When he arrived, he found myself and one other fully clothed and unarmed in the house. Without a single word spoken, he began beating my friend; once he was finished, he sent my friend away and turned his attention to me. He made me undress and shower in front of him, then dragged me out and beat my face. I have no recollection of how many times I was hit, I just know my injuries that resulted from my beating.
My injuries include 18 broken bones around my eyes, my nose is broken in 2 places, I am missing teeth and several more are broken. I am unable to chew, or see out of my left eye. My speech is slurred from my swelling and lack of teeth. I have a fractured rib and severely ruptured liver from a kick to my side. My leg is so badly injured I have not been able to walk on my own. I also attained several lesions from a knife he got from my kitchen. He pushed the knife into me in some areas such as my hand, ear, and head. He also sawed much of my hair off with this dull knife. After some time, the knife broke off of the handle and continued to threaten me with the blade. I believed I was going to die. He has beaten me many times before, but never this badly.
He took my phone and cancelled all of my plans for the following week to make sure no one would worry about my whereabouts. He told me he was going to rape me, but was disappointed in himself when he could not get hard. After another hit or two, he left me on the floor bleeding and shaking, holding my side from the pain of my rib. He left the room and went to the kitchen where I could hear him ruffling through my drawers. Assuming he was finding a sharper, more stable knife to end my life, I ran out my back door, shutting it behind me so the dogs didn’t run inside to tip him off. I hopped the fence to the golf course behind my house and ran to a neighboring house. Naked and afraid he would catch me, I kept running through the neighborhood knocking on doors. Finally, one answered and I was brought to the hospital and treated for my injuries.
I would like to thank everyone for their support through this rough time. I am healing fast and well, and I appreciate all of the prayers and visits I have received over the past few days. After many months of fear and pressure to keep this man happy, although I fear for my life, I feel that I can no longer put myself in this situation. The cheating by him nearly every day, and almost weekly abuse is now more than I can stand. There is a $10k reward for the capture of Jonathan Koppenhaver at this time. Please report any information to your local police.
Thank you.
-Christy Mack
When contacted on Monday, representatives of the Las Vegas Police Department confirmed to MMAFighting.com that Machine, formerly known as Jonathan Koppenhaver, is currently wanted as the “primary suspect” of an alleged incident that occurred at approximately 4 a.m. on Friday, August 8, in which two victims suffered “severe but non-life threatening injuries.”
No charges have been filed against Machine at this time.
A controversial welterweight who compiled a 2-1 record in his only year under the Bellator banner, Machine (14-5) has served two prior stints in jail for assault charges.