Chael Sonnen pleads not guilty to battery charges stemming from incident at Las Vegas hotel
Chael Sonnen has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor battery charges following an altercation at a Las Vegas hotel in 2021.
Per a report from MMA Fighting, the three-time UFC title challenger will return to a Clark County courtroom on August 9th for a bench trial hearing after negotiations between prosecutors and Sonnen’s representation failed to reach a resolution.
Sonnen, 46, is accused of assaulting multiple individuals inside the Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas. Early reports of Sonnen’s arrest allege that the altercation started when one of the individuals attacked by Sonnen was verbally abusive toward the ex-fighter’s wife at the hotel casino. Sonnen was indefinitely suspended by ESPN as an analyst pending the result of the battery case but has remained active on his social media channels, regularly producing videos for his YouTube series Beyond the Fight. Sonnen has not publicly commented on the pending case.
Chael Sonnen Still Faces Multiple Civil Suits Stemming From the Altercation
If he manages to beat the criminal case, Chael Sonnen still faces a civil suit from two of the alleged victims, Julie and Christopher Stellpflug. The suit was filed after felony charges against Sonnen were dropped.
Chael Sonnen rose to fame under the UFC banner thanks to his gift for gab and his memorable performance against Anderson Silva at UFC 117 that nearly earned him the middleweight world championship. The American Gangster’ officially retired from the sport following his appearance at Bellator 222 in June 2019. Sonnen suffered a second-round TKO at the hands of former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Lyoto Machida.
