Chael Sonnen is in the clear on the criminal case stemming from an alleged hotel attack in 2021.
Sonnen, 46, pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of breaching the peace and was fined $750 in Clark County (Nev.) Justice Court, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Sonnen’s criminal attorney, Dayvid Figler, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sonnen did not reply to a request for comment.
Sonnen initially faced a felony charge of battery by strangulation and 10 misdemeanor battery charges stemming from an alleged assault involving a couple at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas on Dec. 18, 2021. Sonnen was accused of randomly attacking the couple and then fighting with security guards and hotel employees who were sent to intervene. He was not arrested by police on the night of the alleged assault, but he was charged when the alleged victims made a civilian complaint.
Prosecutors later dropped four of the misdemeanor charges, and another four were dismissed as part of the plea deal. According to ESPN.com, no conditions were placed on Sonnen as part of his plea deal, and the criminal case is now closed.
Sonnen still faces a pair of civil lawsuits from the alleged attack: one from Dr. Christopher Stellpflug and Julie Stellpflug, who claim the three-time UFC title challenger and MMA commentator was apparently intoxicated and assaulted them after he slapped a drink out of Christopher Stellpflug’s hand; and the other from a former employee of Four Seasons who alleges he was punched in the jaw during the alleged hotel fight.
UFC broadcast partner ESPN suspended Sonnen from broadcasts in light of the incident. He currently serves as a press conference host for Bellator and BKFC in addition to running a popular YouTube page.
