LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Mixed martial arts fighter and former porn performer War Machine is currently serving a one-year sentence for felony assault at the Clark County jail in Nevada. An interview with the controversial welterweight conducted just two days prior to his surrender on Feb. 16 is set to air tonight on Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live.”
Machine, who legally changed his name from Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver to War Machine in 2008, was sentenced on Feb. 2 for assaulting Steven Edward Miller in 2009 at a San Diego bar named Thruster’s Lounge. The jail time came as a surprise to Machine, who had plea bargained with the District Attorney’s office to serve probation and pay the victim’s medical bills in the amount of $61,000.
Clark County Judge Valerie Adair rejected the deal based on Machine’s history of violence, his 2010 incarceration for felony assault in California and the fact that Machine is a professional fighter and should know better than to go around “popping innocent people in the face.” Machine was found guilty of battery with substantial bodily harm.
The ruling cost Machine his spot on Bellator 63, a welterweight tournament from MMA organization Bellator Fighting Championships.
Machine, at the time, responded to the sentencing through his Twitter account, calling the judge a “bitch” and commenting “Fuck the motherf*cking system! F*ck the bullshit!”
The “MMA Uncensored Live” interview finds Machine a little more subdued and reflective if not remorseful. “He came at me, I’m a professional fighter, but I’m still human. The media twists it and exaggerates it to sound like I’m a monster. I’m not a monster,” Machine said in the piece, which airs tonight at 11 p.m., but can be previewed here.
Machine is best remembered among MMA fans for his TKO defeat of Jared Rollins in “The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale.” In porn circles, he’s known for starring in a handful of titles, including Naughty America’s “My Sister’s Hot Friend” and Zero Tolerance’s “Nurse Jobs.”
