War Machine[1] (born Jonathan Koppenhaver on November 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was formerly a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra.
Personal life[]
On The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, War Machine discussed how, as a thirteen year old boy, he unsuccessfully performed CPR on his father, only to witness him die during the process. [2]
In August of 2000, Koppenhaver briefly attended The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. War Machine has also had several scrapes with legal authorities. On September 2, 2007, he was found guilty of striking a Las Vegas man in the face and choking him unconscious during a parking lot scuffle.[3] In February 2008, he was sentenced to three years of probation and 30 days of community service, avoiding the possible felony charge and accompanying prison time.[3]
In February 2009, War Machine began work as a topless VIP lounge bottle server at the alternative nightclub, Krave, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Koppenhaver legally changed his name to "War Machine." [4]
Mixed martial arts[]
The Ultimate Fighter[]
War Machine was a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, fighting on Team Serra. War Machine was not part of the original sixteen fighters initially picked for the show;[5] instead, he was brought in as a replacement when Roman Mitichyan broke his elbow during evaluations and was sent home.[6] War Machine was eliminated in the first round of the show by Tommy Speer. War Machine used a Rear Naked Choke, but with the massive amount of blood dripping, he couldn't tighten the hold enough to make Speer tap; Speer went on to win the decision. The choke was controversial because it appeared that Speer had tapped, although the referee did not stop the fight.
Ultimate Fighting Championship[]
In War Machine's official UFC debut, he defeated Jared Rollins in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra finale show via TKO at 2:01 of the third round. War Machine and Rollins both received 25k due to winning fight of the night honors. His last UFC fight was at UFC 84 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida in which he lost via submission in the first round.[7]
He was released from the UFC after comments made about the death of Evan Tanner and for rejecting a fight offered by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.[8]
Bellator Fighting Championship[]
War Machine has most recently been signed, and then released by the new MMA company Bellator Fighting Championship. His MySpace blog cited disparaging comments about President Barack Obama as the cause for his non-participation in their upcoming tournament.[9]
Independent Promotions[]
Phil Baroni was set to fight undefeated fighter Guillaume de Lorenzi in the main event, held by XMMA. Baroni was forced to withdraw from the bout, due to Baroni being signed by Strikeforce. War Machine was asked to step in and fight Lorenzi, War Machine took the fight on short notice and won via submission in the first round. The XMMA event was held on February 27, 2009.
War Machine fought Reshad Woods (4–1) April 25 at UWC 6: Capital Punishment in Fairfax, Virginia. War Machine won the fight by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:16 of Round 2. He then defeated Erik Montano at a Total Combat event in Mexico City, War Machine again won the fight with a rear naked choke submission.
On June 20, War Machine was set to fight Roger Bowling.[10] However Roger broke his hand a couple weeks before the event and was not cleared to fight. The two agreed to fight later in the year. They were then set to fight at XFC 9 in Tampa, Florida on September 5, it was to be the main event and would broadcast live over HDNet.com.[11] Bowling again was injured and pulled from the fight. War Machine stated he will not try and fight Bowling again and will move on in his career as well as verbally attacking the manger of Bowling. War Machine will now face Mikey Gomez (8-7) in the main event of XFC 9.
On September 5, War Machine stepped into the cage and faced off against Mikey Gomez. The ref stopped the fight, giving a somewhat controversial win to War Machine by TKO - Punches, at 13 seconds in the 3rd round. Some feel that Gomez suffered an eye poke, however, video clearly shows that he was hit in the eye with a closed fist, a legal strike.[12] War Machine was supposed to fight October 3rd against Jacob McClintock but canceled the fight so he could fight on October 8th vs. David Mitchell in which another controversial win took place, this time going in favor of his opponent.
On April 17 War Mchine is set to face Tex Johnson in the main event at Wild Bill's [13]
Pornographic Film Career[]
On 31st of October 2009, War Machine announced that he would pursue a career in pornographic films along with fighting mixed martial arts. War Machine, on the internet stated the following:
"So I said fuck it! I signed with LA Direct Models this week and today I did my first porn scene! (laugh out loud) I shot for Digital Playground with their girl Riley Steele, was fucking awesome! I was nervous as shit but I came through. I'm still gonna fight, just gonna do this too because fighting isn't quite enough money and you all know I ain't trying to work! In life I have come to learn that all I enjoy is eating, sleeping, fighting and fucking! Fuck it! I'm living the dream, getting PAID to fight and fuck! What more could I ask for?"[14]
On 28th of November, War Machine was reported to what witnesses have said, "gone crazy" at a porn actress' birthday party. He attacked several people and ran off before the police came. Here is what he said about the situation on his Twitter.
"Fuck...last night was NOT good...lil' misunderstanding and then WM was back in effect and the bodies hit the floor. I'm fucked...Pretty sure my porn days are over. Prolly be going to jail too...when they find me...haha!"[15]
On December 1st, Las Vegas Police Department issued a warrant out for his arrest.[16]
Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 18 | 10 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 0 |
| By submission | 4 | 2 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss |  David Mitchell
|
Decision (Split) | Tachi Palace Fights 1: Most Wanted | October 8, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California
| |
| Win | Mikey Gomez
|
TKO (Strikes) | XFC 9: Evolution | September 5, 2009 | 3 | 0:13 | Tampa, Florida
| |
| Win |  Erik Montano
|
Submission (Armbar) | Total Combat 33 | July 11, 2009 | 3 | 0:47 |  Mexico City
| |
| Win | Tim Woods
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | UWC 6: Capital Punishment | April 25, 2009 | 2 | 4:16 | Fairfax, Virginia
| |
| Win |  Guillaume de Lorenzi
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | XMMA 7: Inferno | February 27, 2009 | 1 | 4:13 | Montreal, Quebec
| |
| Win | David Anderson
|
KO (Punches) | Desert Rage 4 | November 8, 2008 | 1 | 2:26 | Yuma, Arizona
| |
| Loss |  Yoshiyuki Yoshida
|
Technical Submission (Anaconda Choke) | UFC 84: Ill Will | May 24, 2008 | 1 | 0:56 | Las Vegas, Nevada
| |
| Win | Jared Rollins
|
KO (Punches) | The Ultimate Finale 6 | December 8, 2007 | 3 | 2:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada
|
|
| Win | RJ Gamez
|
TKO (Strikes) | Total Combat 16: Annihilation | September 9, 2006 | 1 | 2:09 | San Diego, California
| |
| Loss | Mike O'Donnell
|
Submission (Armbar) | GFC: Team Gracie vs Team Hammer House | March 3, 2006 | 2 | 4:02 | Columbus, Ohio
| |
| Win | Andrew Ramirez
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | Total Combat 9 | July 30, 2005 | 1 | N/A | Tijuana, Baja California
| |
| Win | Frank Duffy
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Total Combat 4 | July 25, 2004 | 1 | N/A | Tijuana, Baja California
| |
| Win | Angel Santibanez
|
TKO (Punch) | Total Combat 2 | February 29, 2004 | 1 | 1:00 | Tijuana, Baja California
|
References[]
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ http://mmafrenzy.com/1532/the-ultimate-fighter-season-6-episode-8-recap/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stupp, Dann (February 21, 2008). Judge Shows Leniency with John Koppenhaver Sentencing. MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
- ↑ http://www.cagetoday.com/ufc-news-jon-koppenhaver-legally-changes-his-name-to-war-machine/
- ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/oct/30/simi-man-gets-real-on-ultimate-fighter/
- ↑ http://www.mma-zone.com/2008/ufc-84-results-penn-defeats-sherk/
- ↑ Gerbasi, Thomas (March 18, 2008). Koppenhaver Returns as Two Welterweight Bouts are added to UFC 84. UFC.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
- ↑ http://www.fightlinker.com/thank-god-for-consistency.mma
- ↑ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/03/24/jon-war-machine-koppenhaver-vs-roger-bowling-on-june-20/
- ↑ http://www.mmaxfc.com/xfcevents/fightcards/tampa_xfc9.html
- ↑ http://www.getinmagazine.com/web/2009/09/090609xfcfr.htm
- ↑ http://www.georgiafighters.com/war-machine-vs-tex-johnson-to-fight-on-sat-april-3-at-wild-bills/
- ↑ http://middleeasy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=912:war-machine-has-left-mma-dudes-a-pornstar-now&catid=36:fighters
- ↑ http://www.411mania.com/MMA/news/123167/War-Machine-Goes-Crazy-At-Porn-Party.htm
- ↑ http://www.411mania.com/MMA/news/123339/Warrant-Issued-For-Jon-%5C%27War-Machine-Koppenhavers-Arrest.htm
External links[]
Professional MMA record for Jon Koppenhaver from Sherdog Fight Finder- War Machine’s The Ultimate Fighter bio
Template:The Ultimate Fighter 6