War Machine Sentencing

Jonathan Koppenhaver, 35, the former UFC and Bellator fighter also known as War Machine, faced over 30 charges including two counts of attempted murder for an alleged brutal assault carried out against adult movie actress Christy Mackinday, 24, and her friend, Corey Thomas, 31, in August 2014 which left Mackinday suffering from numerous injuries included a punctured lung and several broken bones.

The attempted murder charges carried a possible sentence of life in prison.

War Machine was found guilty on March 20th of kidnapping, beating and sexually assaulting Christy Mackinday over several months in 2014, and of beating her male friend Corey Thomas when he found them together in her bedroom.

The jurors were deadlocked on the two attempted-murder counts against Koppenhaver but convicted him of 29 felonies stemming from attacks.

The two most serious counts War Machine was found guilty of – kidnapping and sexual assault with a weapon – could each get War Machine up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Koppenhaver allegedly burst into Mackinday’s Las Vegas home and accused her of cheating on him with Thomas. He then allegedly punched and choked Thomas for nearly 10 minutes before ordering him to leave and warning him not to call police.

Unbeknown to Koppenhaver, Mackinday had dialled 911 while Thomas was being assaulted and then hidden the phone, the report said.

Once Thomas was gone, police allege Koppenhaver turned on Mackinday, repeatedly punching her as she ran into a bathroom and then forcing her to take a shower.

Koppenhaver then allegedly delivered a beating so ferocious it left Mackinday with a blowout fracture of her left eye and several other broken bones in her face, two missing teeth, a lacerated liver, broken ribs and serious bruising in several places.

Koppenhaver did not testify at the trial.

Christy Mackinday spent eight hours on the witness stand, crying as she said she was beaten and raped by Koppenhaver several times in the months before the August 2014 attack on her and Thomas.

Corey Thomas, a digital media company owner, testified that he dated Mackinday for two months before Koppenhaver arrived at her home unexpectedly, flipped on the bedroom lights and set upon him on the bed with rapid-fire punches and choking.

Thomas testified that he suffered a broken nose, dislocated shoulder, scrapes, bruises and bite marks. The beating stopped, he said, when he asked Koppenhaver if his “end game” was going to be to kill him or let him go.

Christy Mackinday testified that Koppenhaver attacked her after Thomas left. The jury saw photos of Mack with a broken nose, missing teeth, fractured eye socket and leg injuries. She also suffered a lacerated liver.

Koppenhaver has been serving a 1½ to 4 year sentence for violating his probation on a 2009 conviction for attempted battery involving a 21-year-old woman.

Koppenhaver made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in 2007. He had a 14-5 record as a welterweight and legally changed his name to War Machine. His final fight was in 2013.

He was dropped by his fight promoter and his clothing line after Christy Mackinday’s accusations became public.

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