The adult film actress Christy Mack has detailed the brutal assault she was allegedly subjected to by the MMA fighter War Machine in a HBO segment examining the prevalence of domestic violence in MMA.
War Machine, who legally changed his name from Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver in 2008, is awaiting trial accused of 32 charges including kidnapping, substantial bodily harm and attempted murder after allegedly attacking Mack, his ex-girlfriend, when he discovered her sleeping in the same bed as her friend Corey Thomas.
Mack, 24, told Real Sports she suffered a lacerated liver, fractured her orbital bone, lost two teeth and broke her nose during the ordeal.
War Machine, 33, broke into the room and started beating Thomas first, according to Mack’s account. Mack immediately dialled 911 and left the phone beside the bed throughout the incident. A voice can be heard screaming in disturbing footage from the disturbing call featured in the segment.
"I don't remember the first hit, I just remember him charging at me,” she said. “I could taste the blood in my mouth. I was going in and out of consciousness. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't catch my breath and I started convulsing. At that point, I felt like I was going to die."
War Machine has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. In a letter to HBO, he claimed he was defending himself against an “ambush” and should have been facing a maximum five year sentence for domestic violence battery, not 32 “bulls**t charges”. He also claimed he was being vilified because of his profession as a fighter, his name and his tattoos, writing: “This has turned into a gold mine for her. She's raised over a $100,000 for her bills, yet she has full coverage and needs no surgery. No one in this story is innocent.”
After listening to the letter being read out, Mack responded: “As for him being made out to be a villain because he has tattoos and he’s a fighter, I have tattoos and I was a porn star. What makes him more a villain than me?"
War Machine’s trial is due to start on 28 September.
