MMA’s Mike Whitehead to have court date on sexual assault charge

By Dave Toplikar

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | 10:19 a.m.

Mixed martial arts fighter Michael "Iron Mike" Whitehead will have his next court date in August on charges of sexually assaulting a woman last April in his home in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

Whitehead, 29, who is out of custody, didn't appear at a Las Vegas Justice Court hearing this morning for a status check on the case before Justice of the Peace Tony L. Abbatangelo.

However, Whitehead's attorney, Keith Brower, confirmed with the judge that Whitehead would be ready for a preliminary hearing, which will be at 9 a.m. Aug. 17.

Whitehead voluntarily turned himself into detectives April 14 following an incident the previous Saturday, April 10, in which a woman filed a police report indicating the MMA fighter had assaulted her.

According to an arrest report, detectives with Metro's sexual assault detail served a search warrant later that evening at Whitehead's home in the 4600 block of Stuttgart Street.

The woman told police that she and a friend had gone to Whitehead’s home for a barbecue. The two women had been drinking and decided not to drive home. According to the report, Whitehead told the women they could sleep in his bed.

One of the women said she awoke to find her pants down and Whitehead having sex with her. Although she repeatedly demanded that he stop, he didn’t for about three minutes, according to the police report.

After the alleged incident, Whitehead sat in a chair in the bedroom, police said. The second woman, who had been laying next to the woman on the bed, said she witnessed the alleged assault. The second woman alleged that Whitehead groped her during the incident.

Whitehead was booked into the Clark County Detention Center in connection with sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and open and gross lewdness.

Whitehead has competed in several MMA organizations, including the UFC and Strikeforce, as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He was a contestant on the reality series "The Ultimate Fighter 2," losing to eventual season champion Rashad Evans.

His last fight was a TKO (punches) win in the fourth round to Chase Gormley on July 10 at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., where he won the IFC heavyweight championship. He has won 16 of his last 18 fights.