Chael Sonnen is currently facing 11 counts of battery, including felony strangulation for an alleged incident last December inside The Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas. A lawsuit has also been filed stemming from the incident, detailing serious allegations in what is being called a “rampage” and “totally unprovoked attack” from the former two-division UFC title contender.
According to the documents obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, married couple Christopher and Julie Stellpflug were heading to their hotel room when they ran into Sonnen in the hallway.
The lawsuit alleges that Sonnen knocked the drink out of Christopher’s hand “without provocation or any communication whatsoever.” Despite Julie saying they “did not want any trouble,” the fighter allegedly proceeded to punch Christopher multiple times in the head.
Julie claims she screamed for help as Sonnen choked her husband, then the fighter elbowed another guest that tried to separate them. With Christopher down, the lawsuit alleges that Sonnen then “viciously” attacked Julie, throwing her against a wall and punching her in the face.
“Am I going to die? Is this monster going to kill my wife next, and my kids will have no parents?” Christopher Stellpflug told the Las Vegas Review-Journal as he recounted the events. “We did nothing wrong, and this guy went on a crazy rampage.”
The lawsuit alleges that Sonnen punched several security guards that arrived, while also kneeing one in the nose, and kicking another in the chest. Sonnen was said to have only been detained when more employees arrived.
According to a police report obtained by the outlet, minutes before the run-in with the couple, Sonnen was also involved in a separate incident where he allegedly “randomly struck” a different guest.
The couple was said to have sustained concussions and bruising, with Julie Stellpflug also sustaining a split lip from the alleged incident. Three others are said to have also suffered minor injuries.
Sonnen, 44, is a former UFC and Bellator star turned MMA analyst. He has 49 professional fights, and last fought in 2019, when he lost to Lyoto Machida.
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