Former UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen Charged With 11 Counts of Battery

Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen was charged with 11 counts of battery based from an incident on Dec. 18 in Las Vegas, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.

Additionally, the retired fighter was charged with a felony, which was classified as battery by strangulation.

The criminal complaint from the Dec. 18 incident said that six people were attacked by Sonnen, according to ESPN. A man claims Sonnen strangled him, resulting in the felony charge. 

In the complaint, Sonnen is described to have hurt five different men in variations of punching, kneeing, striking and kicking. Also included in the complaint is an alleged description of Sonnen using “force of violence upon” a woman “by punching/striking” and pushing her.

At first, the 44-year-old received five battery citations. However, in January, those citations were dismissed without prejudice. This means the charges could be refiled, which is what ended up happening. The criminal complaint was issued on March 16, which included the 11 battery charges.

The former UFC title challenger, who retired in 2019 from MMA competition, is scheduled to appear in court on April 27.