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Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver’s Background

Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver was born in Simi Valley, California, on November 30th, 1981. His father was a Los Angeles police officer, and his mother was a nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mom.

Growing up, he saw his mother struggle with addiction. When he was 13, his father, Greg, had a heart attack. Koppenhaver tried to perform CPR, but his father didn’t make it.

In 2000, he enrolled at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, but was expelled in 2002 for misconduct.

MMA Career Takes Off

Two years later, he had his first MMA fight, which he won via technical Knockout. After going 4 and 1 in his first five fights, he landed on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, where he competed for a UFC contract.

He did not win the show, but he had two fights in the UFC, winning one and losing the other.

The organization fired him in 2008 for making controversial statements about the death of UFC fighter Evan Tanner and because he declined a fight that was offered.

In 2008, he legally changed his name to War Machine. Without a UFC contract, he was forced to fight in lesser-known promotions again. In 2009, he entered the adult entertainment industry.

When he wasn’t fighting in a cage, he was fighting on the streets. In September 2007, he pleaded guilty to punching a man and choking him unconscious in Las Vegas, Nevada. He received three-year probation.

A few months later, he pleaded guilty in another assault case, which resulted in probation.

In 2009, he attended a birthday party for a famous adult star. He slapped the girl he was with that night, and when other people intervened, he started knocking people out.

In August 2010, he was sent to jail for two bar fights. He was released on October 29th, 2012.

Attack on Christine Mackinday & Corey Thomas

He met adult performer Christie Mack, whose real name is Christine Mackinday, at a photo shoot in the spring of 2013. The two hung out afterward, and soon after, they started dating.

After five months, Koppenhaver became abusive. He would always apologize afterward, and she would forgive him. Mackinday stopped making films, hoping it would stop the abuse, but things didn’t change.

By August 8th, 2014, the couple had broken up, but Koppenhaver entered Mackinday’s Las Vegas home with an old key. He was shocked to find her in bed with Corey Thomas.

He immediately punched Thomas multiple times, then he bit him and choked him. After 10 minutes, he let the terrified man leave. He told him not to contact authorities, and he didn’t.

With Thomas gone, Koppenhaver beat Mackinday, threatened her life with a knife, stripped her naked, and tried to violate her. She escaped the home when Koppenhaver went into the kitchen and left her alone.

She ran to a neighbor’s home, and they called the police, but Koppenhaver was gone when authorities arrived.

After the beating, Mackinday was in the hospital with 18 broken bones and a broken nose. Many of her teeth were knocked out, and she had a ruptured liver.

Koppenhaver went on the run, but he was captured in his hometown a week later and later sent back to Nevada, facing attempted murder, kidnapping, and other charges.

While he was locked up, he tried to off himself, but he survived.

Legal Proceedings

He went to trial in February 2017. A month later, he was convicted on 29 of 36 felony counts. In June 2017, he was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison.

Despite his violent past and lengthy prison sentence, the ex-fighter found love and married in prison in 2019.

He will be 69 years old at his first parole hearing in 2050.