Chael
Sonnen is facing 11 charges — including felony battery by
strangulation — for his role in an alleged hotel fight in Las Vegas
this past December.
TMZ Sports first brought word that prosecutors filed the
charges against the UFC veteran last week. Sonnen is also facing 10
misdemeanor battery charges for the incident. According to court
records, Sonnen committed battery against six victims during the
altercation. Sonnen is accused of choking one man, striking a woman
and punching or kneeing others in the face at the Luxor Hotel and
Casino.
Sonnen was
initially hit with five battery citations, but was not arrested
because police did not witness the incident, although video showed
the former fighter being led away in handcuffs. The case was
dismissed in Nevada court “without prejudice,” which means the
state had the option of refiling the case.
A cause for the incident is unknown, but Sonnen was seen banging on
the door of a hotel room at approxmately 7 a.m. local time. He is
scheduled for his next court appearance on April 27.
The 44-year-old Sonnen last fought at Bellator 222, where he fell
to Lyoto
Machida via second-round TKO on June 14, 2019. He is 31-17-1 in
MMA and challenged for middleweight and light heavyweight gold
during a memorable UFC stint. Sonnen currently serves as an analyst
for ESPN and runs his own grappling promotion, Submission
Underground. He also has recently served as a commentator for the
Eagle FC promotion.