War Machine hits rewind: Back in Bellator

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by Dann Stupp | source: mmajunkie.com

The fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver has led a life that, well, sounds about right guy for a guy who legally changed his name to War Machine. He went 1-1 in the UFC and was released for unfortunate comments about Evan Tanner, and general difficulty.

Then he signed with Bellator and was released for posting really, really unfortunate things about President Obama on his MySpace.

He tried a career in porn, which was shut down when he beat up more or less an entire room of people at a party attended by porn professionals. And he recently got out of a year in County for felony assault.

Still, War Machine is a tremendous talent. Saturday night, after not fighting for 17 months, and defeated fellow UFC vet Roger Huerta in a regional show.

Now he is back in Bellator.

"Jon's not had an easy road," accurately stated Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "And there's no doubt he's made some poor choices, but after having had conversations with him since his release, he really seems to understand where and why things went wrong and wants to make them right. ... I hope he's able to turn this second chance into something positive."

"My past has kind of shaped and molded who I've become," explained War Machine. "But the mistakes I've made in the past have definitely made me realize that I have to avoid certain situations in order to be the type of person I want to be. I pressed rewind, and now I have a chance to get my life back on track. It feels great.

"Not everyone gets this kind of opportunity. I'm just stoked to be back in the mix here with Bellator. I didn't get released from Bellator because I sucked. I got released because I was making poor decisions in my life. Right now I'm just out to show the world that I do belong here fighting the best with Bellator."

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tags: Bellator Jon Koppenhaver War Machine (detail)

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12/9/11 8:55 AM by smellslikefishtasteslikechicken

Thanks roids Gracie that much different than what I had read . stupid wikipedia !!

12/8/11 4:30 PM by BzGrappla

12/8/11 9:55 AM by buckshot44

Good on War Machine, it sounds like he's on the right path. Keep your nose clean and you'll be fine.

12/8/11 12:55 AM by mixedmartialmike

Good for him... Hope he is matured and stays on the right path.

12/8/11 12:40 AM by RoidsGracie

http://www.cagepotato.com/war-machines-porn-career-jeopardy-after-allegedly-assaulting-girlfriend-agent-and-several-terrified/ “War Machine’s own agent, Derek Hay, looked to be the primary target with a couple of shots to the head. Mika Tan’s Ex was KO’d as well & sent to hospital. I never saw anything like it. War Machine was in kill mode. His fists were lethal weapons. Anyone who tried to get between him and Derek got taken down – hard…One guy was clocked and had three teeth knocked out. Another guy — an Asian — had his nose broken. It seemed that every time someone tried to advise War Machine to mellow out or tried to talk sense to him, they got hit for their efforts. Maybe six guys in all got punched…The incident wound up with War Machine and Derek playing hide and seek with one another around a dumpster. Then at some point, both War Machine and Derek took off when someone threatened to call the cops.” — Derek Hay is recovering in the hospital. It appears t

12/8/11 12:18 AM by Nexuscrawlers

this, nice to see bellator taking another talented fighter, they need to build up their lw and ww to catch up with the fw division

12/7/11 11:36 PM by 209>808

Beat up a whole room of porn actors or whatever ?? I read he punched one guy once and fled . That story sounds wayyyyyyy better , care to provide some details ?

12/7/11 11:32 PM by mmavixen

Exciting...I have always enjoyed watching War Machine...(fight, not do his thing with the porn)

12/7/11 11:20 PM by smoogy

I'm not knocking the signing or implying they just did it to bring back a TUF guy; I think War Machine is an underrated all-rounder, especially if he is going in at 155 for Bellator. What I mean is that with Kevin Kay and MTV/Spike having a greater influence over the product now, they're going to go with familiar faces.

12/7/11 11:14 PM by Mayhem13

War Machine v Lozano would be an awesome brawl!Do it up Sam and Bjorn

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