Ultimate Fighter Pleads Guilty to Assault
December 13, 2007
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.
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