Former UFC fighter accused of hotel attack reaches plea deal
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen has reached a plea deal after he was accused of attacking multiple people at a Las Vegas hotel in 2021.
Prosecutors had dropped a felony battery charge against Sonnen in March 2022, and a judge dismissed two of six misdemeanor battery counts in September. The two dismissed counts had accused Sonnen of attacking Christopher and Julie Stellpflug, of San Luis Obispo, California, who claimed Sonnen repeatedly punched them on Dec. 18, 2021 in a hallway of a Four Seasons hotel.
He pleaded no contest on Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of breaching the peace, and was ordered to pay a $750 fine. Sonnen did not appear in court, and his attorney, Dayvid Figler, declined to comment further on the case.
Sonnen was also accused of striking a security guard in the nose with his knee and kicking another in the chest before he was detained by more employees.
Although police were called to the scene, Sonnen was not arrested the night of the alleged attack, Figler has said. The Stellpflugs then made a civilian complaint about the attack, Figler said, and the Metropolitan Police Department issued misdemeanor battery citations to Sonnen in January.
The Stellpflugs also filed a lawsuit against Sonnen in March 2022. Their attorney, Kory Kaplan, said Wednesday that the couple’s lawsuit is ongoing.
The couple has alleged that they encountered Sonnen in a hallway when he appeared intoxicated, and Sonnen knocked a drink out of Christopher Stellpflug’s hand “without provocation.” Sonnen was accused of punching Christopher Stellpflug in the head, choking him, and also punching Julie Stellpflug in the face.
According to the lawsuit, another man came out of his room and tried to stop Sonnen, who began elbowing the man. A different man told police he called security after Sonnen had punched him in the face, just before the Stellpflugs arrived in the hallway.
Sonnen’s attorney had previously asked for a judge to drop all of the charges after prosecutors were unable to obtain statements the Stellpflugs gave to a California TV station, which Figler argued could have been used as exculpatory evidence.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
