War Machine,” the fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver before a legal name change to his killer nickname, has been cut from Bellator Fighting Championships (BFC) before the show on ESPN Deportes even started.
The former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 recently attributed the move to disparaging comments he made about United States President Barack Obama on his MySpace.com page, which are not fit for print.
Here is his side of the story:
“Seems War Machine is being censored again. I can’t speak my mind at all without all the homo higher-ups in the industry getting their panties in a wad. Just how my Evan Tanner bulletin got me kicked out of the UFC it seems that I have been kicked off the Bellator show before it has even begun. Seems they don’t like it when their fighters speak their mind on the politics of the USA and its [expletive]-ass presidents…. I’m not changing for anyone or any dollar amount. I could have earned over a quarter million in that tournament but I don’t give a [expletive].”
Koppenhaver was released from his UFC contract in 2008 after he refused to take a fight against Brandon Wolff (no upside) and made questionable remarks shortly after the death of Evan Tanner (speculated he committed suicide and he didn’t).This was also after he was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $2,300 in restitution for a felony assault on a passerby outside a California gym in September 2007.
He now appears to have pulled the pin on another verbal tirade and in the process detonated an opportunity to fight for a promising upstart promotion.
Easy come, easy go.
BFC is set to debut on ESPN Deportes on April 4, 2009. The show will comprise 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts.
Eddie Alvarez, Jorge Masvidal and Wilson Reis are just a handful of talented fighters who have signed on to be a part of the cast. Former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) middleweight champion, Paulo Filho, has also been discussed as a possible addition to the roster, among others.
Now there appears to be room for one more.
