Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Former UFC fighter sought in attack on ex-girlfriend arrested in Calif.

Updated Friday, Aug. 15, 2014 | 4:30 p.m.

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Christy Mack says she suffered severe injuries in a domestic violence dispute involving ex-boyfriend Jon Koppenhaver.

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Jonathan Koppenhaver

A former UFC fighter known as War Machine wanted in an attack on his former girlfriend and porn star Christy Mack was arrested today in California, authorities said.

Jonathan Koppenhaver, a fugitive wanted by Metro Police, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Simi Valley, Calif., with the help of local police, officials said.

U.S. Marshals developed information that Koppenhaver had fled the Las Vegas Valley and was in California.

He was found at an Extended Stay America hotel along with a small quantity of cash, Simi Valley police said.

Court records dated Monday show the 32-year-old fighter was wanted on suspicion of domestic battery, strangulation, lewdness, assault and coercion stemming from an attack police say occurred Aug. 8.

Koppenhaver was booked into the Simi Valley City Jail and then taken to Ventura County Jail pending his extradition to Nevada.

A Clark County District Attorney spokeswoman said it isn't clear when Koppenhaver will be brought to Clark County, but it could take as long as 90 days.

“This is yet another example of how our joint agency efforts are apprehending fugitives who think they can hide,” said District of Nevada U.S. Marshal Christopher Hoye.

According to Metro Police, two people were seriously injured in an incident early Aug. 8 in the 2400 block of Pueblo Way, near Eastern Avenue and Desert Inn Road.

In a statement released via Twitter, Mack said she suffered 18 broken bones, broken teeth and a ruptured liver. She said she was home with a friend when she was attacked. The friend was also attacked, she said.

“I believed I was going to die,” said Mack, who ran to a neighbor’s house for help.

Koppenhaver competed in the UFC in 2007. He legally changed his name to “War Machine” in 2008, according to fighting website Cage Today.

He has also appeared in adult films, according to the Internet Adult Film Database, and in Hustler, an adult magazine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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