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 he 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 approximately 7:00 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.
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