War Machine could face life in prison for alleged assault on ex-girlfriend

LAS VEGAS (KABC) -- Mixed martial arts fighter Jonathan "War Machine" Koppenhaver appeared in court in Clark County, Nevada on Wednesday and faced new charges for an alleged assault on his adult-film actress ex-girlfriend, Christy Mack.

Koppenhaver, 32, is accused of entering Mack's residence in Las Vegas and assaulting her on Aug. 8, resulting in 18 broken bones, a cracked rib, a ruptured liver and broken teeth. He fled Nevada and was arrested by U.S. Marshals a week later in a Simi Valley hotel room and was extradited to Nevada.

He now faces several charges, including attempted murder, sexual assault, burglary, battery constituting domestic violence, sexually motivated coercion and witness tampering. Koppenhaver was not asked to enter a plea. He was held without bail pending an Oct. 17 preliminary hearing.

"I think the public will understand that War Machine's a character," Koppenhaver's lawyer Brandon Sua said outside court. "He is controversial and people need to understand where to draw that line from his character as War Machine and a person as Jon Koppenhaver, because that's who he is."

Koppenhaver was originally sought on a warrant involving seven charges, including battery, assault, coercion and lewdness.

Prosecutors say Koppenhaver beat Mack multiple times over a span of more than a year. Koppenhaver is accused of using a knife during some of the incidents that date back to May 2013.

If convicted on all charges, Koppenhaver could face life in prison.

The Associated Press and KTNV contributed to this report.