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Thread: Busted MMA fighters and fights

  1. #211
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    Stepan Zaytunyan

    Martial Arts Coach Turned Fugitive In Sex Assault Case After Missing Hearing
    October 1, 2015 2:23 PM


    Stepan Zaytunyan (credit: Denver DA)

    DENVER (CBS4)– An MMA fighter turned martial arts coach is considered a fugitive after he failed to show up for a court hearing in a sexual assault case.

    Stepan Zaytunyan skipped a court hearing on Tuesday in Denver.

    Prosecutors say Zaytunyan sexually assaulted a former taekwondo student from 2010 until 2013. Denver’s District Attorney also accuses him of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl during a party at his home last year.
    MMA Fugitive Rapist - not to make light of a horrible situation but that sounds like a Japanese schlock flick.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #212
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    Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller

    Martial arts’ Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller nabbed, accused of assault with deadly weapon
    POSTED BY DEBBIE L. SKLAR ON OCTOBER 16, 2015 IN OC | 942 VIEWS | LEAVE A RESPONSE


    Mixed martial arts fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was arrested in Mission Viejo during a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies at his residence. Photo via OnScene.TV

    Mixed martial arts fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was arrested Friday in Mission Viejo during a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies at his residence, authorities said.

    The incident occurred about 1:35 a.m. in the 26200 block of Avenida Calidad, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock.

    Miller, 34, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, Hallock said.

    Deputies went to the residence in response to a report of a disturbance, Hallock said.

    “Deputies arrived and heard sounds of a female screaming coming from inside the house,” Hallock said. “As deputies entered the side yard of the residence they were immediately confronted by Miller, who was aggressive and yelling.

    “Miller threw a ceramic tile at deputies and threatened them with a large fire extinguisher and metal pole as he retreated towards the backyard,” Hallock said. “Deputies gave Miller numerous directives, which he continually ignored.”

    The deputies then deployed a Taser, Hallock said.

    “After an approximately eight-minute struggle, (they) handcuffed Miller and took him into custody,” Hallock said.

    Miller was examined by paramedics, which is “protocol following deployment of the Taser device,” he said.

    “Subsequent investigation determined an altercation had occurred between Miller and two females inside the house,” Hallock said. “Both females were interviewed and uncooperative with investigators.”

    Miller was booked into the Orange County Jail and was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Hallock said.

    In October of last year, Miller pleaded not guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest in an incident that occurred when deputies showed up at his home as part of a followup investigation of a domestic violence and stalking case.

    During the standoff, Miller live-tweeted from inside his home.

    —City News Service
    A tile and a metal pole? Except for the fire extinguisher, that's so Kung Fu.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #213
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    Monte Cox

    Mixed martial arts promoter admits lying on tax return
    The Associated Press
    October 27, 2015 Updated 19 minutes ago

    DAVENPORT, Iowa — Authorities say a man who made his living promoting mixed martial arts fights and managing fighters has pleaded guilty to filing a false federal tax return.

    Prosecutors say Monte Cox is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court in Davenport. The 55-year-old Cox pleaded guilty earlier this month to filing a false return for 2009. His plea agreement says Cox underreported income from 2007 through 2010, while living in Bettendorf and operating Ultimate Productions Inc. Prosecutors say Cox didn't report income estimated at more than $1.1 million over those four years.

    The conviction carries a maximum prison term of three years.
    Seems minor compared to the other posts on this thread, but it carries one of the longer sentences.
    Gene Ching
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  4. #214
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    Jamual Parks

    The ol' 'hands as deadly weapons' thing comes up again....

    MMA fighter sentenced for using hands as deadly weapons
    Lauren Zakalik, WFAA 11:26 p.m. CST November 2, 2015
    635821018735935497-1102-mma-fighter01


    (Photo: WFAA)

    FORT WORTH — If you ask former UFC fighter Travis Lutter, he'll tell you it takes years to become a fully-trained MMA fighter.

    It takes far less time, he says, to simply be dangerous.

    "You have to be fast, you have to be strong, you have to be accurate, and you have to be in shape," Lutter said.

    Authorities believes the skills of 27-year-old MMA fighter Jamual Parks of Arlington made him so dangerous, they charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a November 2013 incident in which he beat up friend Juan Angel so badly he went to the hospital.

    Testimony on Monday revealed the fight started at Parks' apartment, where the two were hanging out. At one point, Parks threw Angel through a dry wall.

    Former MMA fighter Jamual Parks was sentenced to six years in prison.

    The deadly weapon in this case, according to Assistant District Attorney Bill Vassar, was the suspect's hands. He also had a machete in a case, but did not use it to harm Angel.

    Parks pleaded guilty.

    "It's pretty unusual, but in this instance — because he is an MMA fighter — we thought it was appropriate to charge his hands as deadly weapons," Vassar said, adding that he believes this may be a first in Tarrant County.

    Parks also pleaded guilty to beating up Arlington police Cpl. L. Hoerig when she arrived at his apartment.


    Arlington police Cpl. L. Hoerig testified at the sentencing trial of former MMA fighter Jamual Parks. (Photo: WFAA)

    "He was on top of me, hitting me with his fists multiple times," she said at Parks' sentencing hearing, recalling the terror. "I'm trying to do everything I can to keep myself alive."

    Judge Wayne Salvant said in court Monday he believes Parks was on drugs during the assaults, and sentenced him to six years in prison with credit for time served.

    "It just doesn't make sense," Salvant said during the sentencing. "It just does not make sense that you would attack someone you invited to your home, and then you would attack the police officers who came over there. You could very well have been killed because of that."

    Back at Lutter's Fort Worth gym, which has no affiliation with Parks, Lutter told WFAA he's never heard of someone's hands being considered deadly weapons just because they're an MMA fighter.

    "How do you make the distinction?" he asked. "How effective I am? How good I am at my job?"

    At least in this case, police believe Parks' hands could have proven deadly.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #215
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    Matt Coakley

    Injustice! MMA Fighter Given 8 Years In Prison For Defending Himself In Bar Fight
    January 7, 2016



    Here’s a pretty troubling story about an amateur MMA fighter who was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a bar fight.

    Matt Coakley was sentenced to eight years back in 2014 after being involved in a bar fight that witnesses said lasted 15 seconds and reportedly he wasn’t even the one who started the scuffle. Coakley is currently serving his time in Raleigh, NC.

    In a report from back in 2014, his mother Lorin Coakley, told reporters from ABC 11 that her son wasn’t drunk and in fact was sober during the time of the incident. She says him and a group of friends went to a local pub to watch UFC fights. Sometime during the night Matt and another guy, Denny Clark, got into an argument about a TV. Later on, the two bumped into eachother in the bathroom and that’s when the fight took place.

    His mother said, “Denny came out of the stall and walked the length of the bathroom and came at Matt and I guess they exchanged some words and Denny put his hands on Matt’s throat

    A big part of the case is that Clark ended up getting seriously injured in the fight and actually lost an eye. However, his mother says just because he is a trained fighter, doesn’t mean her son shouldn’t be allowed to defend himself. She also believes he was given an unfair ruling just because of his MMA background.

    Suport for Coakley has started spreading around the MMA world, with folks over on the UG trying to raise awareness of the injustice that they feel fell upon the amateur fighter.

    What do you guys think, is 8 years a little ridiculous for a 15 second bathroom brawl?
    As Gandhi said "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."
    Gene Ching
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  6. #216
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    As Gandhi said "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."
    The combatives guys used to go on and on about that crap. Yeah, but dot hey train this lethal stuff. I always said, do you really think it is that big a jump for these guys to stick a finger in your eye? Crush your throat or break your knee ? I swear some just don't get it. PRO's are a different breed.

    Now, Im not sure how the eye was lost but I figure punch or kick. Likely not a gouge of any type. Just massive impact. Maybe an elbow or falling eye first into the corner of a sink. But, if he did use a gouge, well I rest my case. Probably rarely trained it.

  7. #217
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    Robert M. Mullen

    Punching police officers never ends well. Cops don't tap.

    2 Minneapolis officers sent to hospital after brawling with MMA fighter
    The mixed-martial-arts fighter punched the officers in the head before a second shot from a Taser subdued him, according to the criminal complaint.

    By Paul Walsh Star Tribune JANUARY 6, 2016 — 11:38PM


    HENNEPIN COUNTY JAIL
    Robert M. Mullen, 22, of Minneapolis, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with assaulting a police officer, obstructing the legal process, domestic assault and disorderly conduct.

    A mixed-martial-arts fighter attacked two Minneapolis police officers and sent both to the hospital with head injuries from his punches, but the cops eventually overwhelmed the man with a second shot from a Taser, prosecutors allege.

    Robert M. Mullen, 22, of Minneapolis, was charged Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court with assaulting a police officer, obstructing the legal process, domestic assault and disorderly conduct in connection with the brawl Monday at his grandfather’s house.

    Both officers, Troy Lennander and Molly Trupe, were treated at North Memorial Medical Center for their injuries from blows to the head that Mullen landed, according to the criminal complaint. They were not admitted to the hospital and have returned to work, said police spokesman John Elder.

    As the nearly 200-pound Mullen was being led from the home in the 2500 block of Vincent Avenue N. by other officers, he said he was a mixed-martial-arts fighter who has competed at Turtle Lake Casino in western Wisconsin. Mullen registered with the Minnesota Office of Combative Sports but did not finalize his application. Posted on YouTube are a few amateur bouts he fought in Minnesota.

    According to the criminal complaint:

    Mullen showed up in the morning at his grandfather’s house, where he occasionally stayed, to retrieve items. The grandfather called police because he feared Mullen would break down the door. He also said Mullen pushed him.

    Officers approached Mullen as he was walking from the house to an SUV and yelling about getting his possessions. Mullen entered the home with the officers, who then ordered him to leave at the grandfather’s request.

    Once near the front door, Mullen took a swing at Officer Lennander’s head. Officer Trupe responded by kneeing Mullen in the thigh four times, ordering him to cooperate and calling for more officers. Mullen struck Trupe in the head, leaving the left side of her face swollen.

    The next thing Lennander remembered was being on his back in the family room with Mullen on top and punching the officer in the face. The numerous punches left Lennander dazed.

    Trupe intervened with a neck restraint hold and pulled Mullen off of her partner. Mullen freed himself and went after Lennander again. Lennander fired his Taser twice at Mullen, bringing the brawl to an end.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #218
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    Darren Towler

    MMA champion Darren Towler jailed after more than 2,000 ecstasy tablets found stashed in car
    15:09, 19 JAN 2016 UPDATED 17:59, 19 JAN 2016
    BY SARAH NICHOL
    The cage fighter was also found to be possession of cocaine and £2,300 cash when his Citroen Berlingo vehicle was pulled over following a police operation


    Snared: Towler was spotted in a Toby Carvery pub car park.

    Mixed martial arts world champion Darren Towler has been jailed after being found with more than 2,000 ecstasy tablets stashed in his car.

    The 34-year-old cage fighter, who lifted a UCMMA title in 2011, fell from grace when he was caught transporting the class A drug following a meeting with a contact in a Newcastle pub car park.

    He was also found to be possession of cocaine and £2,300 cash when his Citroen Berlingo vehicle was pulled over following a police operation.

    Officers secretly watched him meet another man, Liam Patterson, outside the Toby Carvery pub, in Kingston Park, reports the Newcastle Chronicle.

    Now, Towler has been jailed for three years and three months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply MDMA, possessing cocaine with intent to supply and possessing criminal property.

    Patterson, 28, of Nelson Road, Stakeford, Northumberland, was locked-up for three years after admitting conspiracy to supply MDMA and was given a further 15 months for a separate fraud offence.


    Caught out: Officers secretly watcher Towler meet with Liam Patterson

    Jailing Towler, Judge Tim Gittins said: “You became a mixed martial arts world heavyweight champion and displayed the strength you must have built up and the sacrifice that becoming a world champion in any sport involves.

    “However, you didn’t have the strength to wrestle with your own conscience.

    “You were a small but important part of a conveyor belt in the supply of class A drugs.”

    Richard Herman, prosecuting, said the offences happened on August 11 2014 when Towler was spotted in the Toby Carvery pub car park.

    He said: “An officer observed a Citroen Berlingo parked next to a Ford Transit van in the car park of a public house.

    “The Citroen had two occupants, the passenger being Darren Towler.

    “Liam Patterson was observed in the public house with his daughter. Patterson was overheard on a phone call saying: “Ok, I will be out in a minute”.

    “The call was terminated and he left the pub and went out across the car park towards the Citroen.”

    The court heard Towler retrieved a carrier bag from the transit van and exchanged a few words with his co-accused before he left the scene and Patterson returned to the pub.

    Mr Herman added: “At 5.20pm later that day, the Citroen was stopped by police. Towler was searched and he produced from the pocket of his jacket £2,300 in cash in notes.

    “The van was searched and it was found to contain a carrier bag with a significant quantity of drugs - there were 2,000 MDMA tablets, or ecstasy tablets, in two separate bags. There was also two packages of cocaine, just short of 12g.”

    Jane Waugh, mitigating for Towler, who has 13 convictions for 28 offences, said he’d acted as a courier after getting into debt through his drug addiction, which he’d started through the contacts he’d met through cage fighting.

    She said: “He got into this because he was a mixed martial arts champion and got mixed up with the wrong people as part of that crowd.

    “He began taking cocaine. When he was not taking part in a fight, he was taking cocaine and getting himself into debt.

    “He couldn’t keep up with the amount of cocaine he was taking and he was persuaded to act as a courier on this occasion, to take drugs on behalf of someone else and has now found himself before the courts.”

    Patterson was jailed for four years and three months after he also admitted a separate fraud offence for his part in fleecing two old women out of more than £5,000.

    Caroline Goodwin, for Patterson, said: “He was using alcohol and drugs and they spiralled out of control and he began owing money.

    “He’s rid himself now of drugs and, in his words, ‘emotional equilibrium has been installed’ and he’s found employment.”
    An MMA fighter turned transporter. Sounds like a B movie plot
    Gene Ching
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  9. #219
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    Antonio Borden

    Mixed martial arts fighter convicted of assaulting woman
    Tuesday, January 26, 2016 12:06 p.m. CST


    Antonio Borden (Stutsman Co. Jail)
    JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) - A jury has convicted a mixed martial arts fighter from Jamestown who was accused of choking and sexually assaulting a woman.

    21-year-old Antonio Borden was found guilty of gross sexual imposition, aggravated assault and menacing. He could face life in prison without parole. Sentencing was not immediately scheduled.

    Borden was accused of assaulting a woman after she gave him a ride home from a bar in May 2015. He denied assaulting her.
    A gal can't give an MMA fighter a ride home nowadays....
    Gene Ching
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  10. #220
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    Datsik served his term

    More on Datsik here.

    Russian fighter Viacheslav Datsik to resume MMA career after prison release this month
    By Karim Zidan  @ZidanSports on Mar 11, 2016, 12:00p



    Former Russian MMA fighter Viacheslav Datsik is expected to be released from prison later this month and wants to resume his MMA career.

    The fighter who is renowned for his KO win against Andrei Arlovski in his professional debut in 1999 is set to make an MMA comeback shortly after his release from prison.

    According to Viacheslav Datsiks mother, Svetlana, the veteran fighter is interested in a MMA bout once he is released from his six-year imprisonment.

    "He's just going to fight," Svetlana told tass.ru. "They (Krasnoyarsk) has a gym that he trains. I do not want to advertise [his opponent] in advance."

    The 36-year-old was once considered one of the most diabolical figures in Russian MMA. He competed for the likes of M-1 Global in 1999 and Fight Nights and compiled a lopsided 6-9 professional record. His kickboxing record was a more respectable 6-1overall.

    Datsik was detained in 2007 over a series of armed robberies of phone shops in St. Petersburg. Following an examination of his mental health following his proclamations that he was the son of a Slavic pagan god, it was deemed that Datsik was afflicted with schizophrenia and was not imprisoned. He was transferred to a psychiatric clinic, where he escaped in 2010 by tearing a hole in the fence. Datsik escaped to Norway, where he illegally crossed the border and handed himself in to the authorities for political asylum. He was eventually jailed again for his relations to neo-natzisim. He was extradited back to Russia in 2011 to serve the remainder of his sentence.

    Datsik will be released from prison later this month.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #221
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    Muhammad Husamaldin

    PD: Middletown MMA fighter had sword, knives, brass knuckles



    By Press staff
    POSTED: 03/20/16, 10:02 AM EDT | UPDATED: 1 DAY AGO

    MIDDLETOWN >> A trained mixed martial arts fighter is facing multiple felony charges after police said they found dangerous weapons and drug paraphernalia in his possession.

    Muhammad Husamaldin, 44, of Grove Street was charged with 10 counts of weapons in a vehicle, two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia and obtaining drugs illegally.

    According to the report, the Middletown police narcotics unit received a tip that Husamaldin was selling crack cocaine and heroin from his car throughout the city.

    On March 16 at 6:45 p.m., police were conducting surveillance on Main and Green streets when they witnessed two unidentified males approach Husamaldin’s tan Ford Escape.

    Police allegedly saw Husamaldin — whom they knew was a MMA fighter — hand one of the men a handful of pills while the other climbed into the passenger seat. When officers approached Husamaldin’s vehicle, he told authorities he had a “few” knives in his possession, the report details.

    A search of the vehicle turned up several prescription bottles in the front seat, one large sword, throwing knives, a stiletto spring knife, a pair of brass knuckles, two expandable metal batons and a Karambit fighting knife.

    According to documents, police also allegedly found nearly $450 in Husamaldin’s pants pocket.

    A records check showed that Muhammad had been arrested 13 times prior with convictions of threatening, probation violation, assault, unlawful restraint, interfering/resisting, possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics, criminal trespass, carrying dangerous weapons, breach of peace and larceny.

    Husamaldin was released after posting a $25,000 bail and given a March 30 court date.
    I didn't find a fight record for Husamaldin, but I didn't search that hard.
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  12. #222
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    Joaquin Balassa

    Here's a particularly sordid one. Surprised it has escaped our attention until now.

    Former mixed martial arts fighter found guilty of murder
    BY JASON KOTOWSKI jkotowski@bakersfield.com
    MONDAY, APR 4, 2016 11:32 AM — updated 7 hours ago


    Jason Kotowski/ The Californian
    Former mixed martial arts fighter Joaquin Balassa listens as a jury finds him guilty of two counts of murder in the beating deaths of two men. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pam Singh, is seated beside him.


    Jason Kotowski/ The Californian
    Joaquin Balassa holds his hands over his face Monday as he's found guilty of two counts of murder for beating two men to death at his Tehachapi apartment.


    Courtesy of Paul Rowe
    Jose Fajardo and his dog.


    Courtesy of Paul Rowe
    Jose Fajardo, left, and Guy Koukal at a softball tournament in Sherman Oaks in 1996.

    A Kern County jury Monday found former mixed martial arts fighter Joaquin Balassa guilty of murder in the grisly beating deaths of two men at his Tehachapi apartment.

    Balassa, 29, looked on in apparent disbelief and said, “I was only defending myself,” as a court clerk read the verdicts at 11:30 a.m. He placed his hands over his face, and a woman in the audience made a brief noise and covered her mouth.

    Balassa faces life in prison without parole at his May 2 sentencing.

    The jury of two men and 10 women reached guilty verdicts on both counts of first-degree murder following three days of deliberation.

    “They were very careful and took their time,” prosecutor David Wilson said afterward.

    Wilson spoke with jurors following the verdict, and he said they told him “they were impressed with how our (justice) system, with all its flaws, is a beautiful thing.”

    Balassa admitted killing Jose Antonio Fajardo, 54, and Guy Richard Koukal, 57, but testified he acted in self-defense after the men raped him in his apartment in the 600 block of Cherry Lane. He said he and the men, a gay couple he didn’t know well, had been drinking the evening of Aug. 31, 2014.

    He testified he invited the men to stay the night at his apartment and then went to bed. He said he awoke early the next day to find Koukal raping him as Fajardo held him down.

    Balassa said he broke free, and then beat each man to death separately — Koukal in the bathroom, Fajardo in the living room.

    His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pam Singh, had asked the jury for an acquittal on grounds of self-defense. Failing that, she asked it to consider a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

    Prosecutor David Wilson said Balassa lied about the rape. The first time he mentioned the rape was during his testimony a year and a half after the killings.

    Balassa previously told investigators he woke up to find the men dead and had no idea what happened.

    There were no significant injuries to Balassa and he never complained of pain following his arrest, Wilson said during trial. Balassa's description of the alleged rape and his subsequent pummeling of the men was inconsistent with blood spatter and other physical evidence at the scene.

    Wilson said it’s unclear why Balassa killed the men, but Fajardo may have made a pass at him or tried to kiss him. Wilson said testimony, and prior criminal cases, revealed Balassa has a quick temper.

    Balassa pleaded no contest to battery with serious bodily injury in 2006 and was sentenced to eight days in jail.

    Balassa trained for years in different fighting styles and had at one point hoped to make a living as a mixed martial arts fighter, according to testimony. He trained in jiujitsu, taekwondo and kickboxing, and was an accomplished wrestler in high school.

    He lost his sole professional fight in March 2010.

    Fajardo and Koukal met in 1994, married in 2008 and moved to Stallion Springs within a year of their deaths.

    Paul Rowe, a friend of the couple, attended the trial and Monday, as he fought back tears, said he was grateful for the dedicated work of the prosecution.

    “Guy and Jose had a great life and added great joy to many of their friends' lives,” he added later in an email.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #223
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    life

    More on Balassa here.

    Former mixed martial arts fighter sentenced for double murder
    BY JASON KOTOWSKI jkotowski@bakersfield.com
    MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 8:50 AM


    Jason Kotowski/ The Californian
    Joaquin Balassa listens Monday as he's sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering two men at his Tehachapi apartment.


    Courtesy of Paul Rowe
    Jose Fajardo, left, and Guy Koukal at a softball tournament in Sherman Oaks in 1996.

    A former mixed martial arts fighter convicted of murder in the brutal beating deaths of two men in Tehachapi was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Joaquin Balassa, 29, looked ahead sternly as Judge Michael E. Dellostritto pronounced sentence.

    Balassa had admitted to killing Jose Antonio Fajardo, 54, and Guy Richard Koukal, 57, but testified he acted in self-defense. He claimed the men, who were acquaintances of his, raped him in his apartment in the 600 block of Cherry Lane.

    A jury found him guilty of two counts of murder on April 4.

    Dellostritto said Monday he had read a lengthy letter Balassa wrote after his conviction in which he gave his thoughts on the trial and how he acted in self-defense. The judge didn’t read the letter, but prosecutor David Wilson said Balassa still doesn’t understand that just because he says something doesn’t mean it’s true.

    “What is clear is that he brutally murdered two individuals and, if that wasn’t enough, he defamed them by claiming they committed the most heinous acts imaginable,” Wilson said.

    Balassa’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pam Singh, had asked the jury for an acquittal on grounds of self-defense.

    Balassa testified he killed the men Sept. 1, 2014, after they raped him following a night of drinking. He said he never told authorities about the rape because he was embarrassed and ashamed.

    But Wilson said the rape never happened. Balassa lied about the assault, Wilson said, just as he’d previously lied to investigators when he said he woke up to find the men dead and had no idea what happened.

    The first mention of the alleged rape was when Balassa took the witness stand a year and a half after the killings. Wilson said Balassa made the story up in a last ditch effort to avoid a murder conviction.

    There were no significant injuries to Balassa and he never complained of pain following his arrest, the prosecutor said. His description of the alleged rape and his subsequent beating of the men was inconsistent with physical evidence at the scene.

    It's unclear why Balassa killed the men, but Wilson said Fajardo may have made a pass at him or tried to kiss him and he became angry.

    Law enforcement who contacted Balassa at his apartment the next morning testified he threatened to kill them and tried kicking out a rear window of a patrol vehicle after he'd been handcuffed and placed inside.

    One officer said he pepper sprayed Balassa to stop him from damaging the vehicle and potentially escaping. Balassa denied threatening the officers.

    Balassa, a standout wrestler in high school, trained for years in different fighting styles and had at one point hoped to make a living as a mixed martial arts fighter, according to testimony. He trained in jiujitsu, taekwondo and kickboxing.

    He lost his sole professional fight in March 2010.

    Fajardo and Koukal met in 1994, married in 2008 and moved to Stallion Springs within a year of their deaths.
    Gene Ching
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  14. #224
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    Amokrane Sabet

    More than busted. Shot dead.

    MMA Fighter Shot And Killed Following Police Officer Assault And Murder (Graphic)
    May 2, 2016



    According to reports this professional MMA fighter was found on the wrong side of the law and he paid the ultimate price for it.

    Amokrane Sabet, the fighter in question was confronted by police, when he wielded a knife, stabbing and killing a police officer, then met death himself via gunfire from authorities.

    Tragic story.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #225
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,907

    Slightly OT

    Not busted....yet. Just monitored.

    Seeking to kick jihadi threat, French warily eye martial arts clubsOfficials see clubs for judo, kickboxing and other sports as fertile ground for terror recruiters, places for attackers to hone skills
    BY FRANCOISE CHAPTAL May 19, 2016, 11:19 am


    People take part in a MMA (Mixed Martials Arts) training session on May 2, 2016 in Paris. (AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT)People take part in a MMA (Mixed Martials Arts) training session on May 2, 2016 in Paris. (AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT)

    PARIS (AFP) — Combat sports are booming around the world but in France they increasingly draw the attention of intelligence services hunting potential jihadists.

    Long concentrated in poor suburbs and with no real organization watching over their activities, critics say the mixed martial arts, judo, kickboxing and other clubs are ideal for fomenting radicalization and jihadist training.

    Ironically, many of the clubs get subsidies from French town halls.

    Mederic Chapitaux, who has written a book, “Sport, The Fault In State Security,” about the phenomenon, believes France should not be alone in worrying.

    “We know this has a national dimension, European, worldwide,” Chapitaux, a former gendarme and technical director for a contact sports federation, told AFP in an interview.

    Just before a group of suicide attackers killed 130 people across Paris on November 13 last year, a Central Territorial Intelligence Service note was leaked.

    It warned of the radicalization in suburban, amateur sports — particularly the combat clubs. Sports Minister Patrick Kanner said later that France had completely “underestimated” the risks.

    His ministry launched a Citizens of Sports plan aiming to reinforce education for sports trainers to counter radicalization.

    Chapitaux said the “signals” of trouble were missed. Fighters increasingly covered their bodies, even for showers, prayer mats appeared before and after training, there was a growing rejection of mixing with women.


    Police forces and soldiers patrol in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, Wednesday, November 18, 2015. (AP/Christophe Ena)

    “Trainers and social workers did not understand the growth of the phenomenon,” said Chapitaux. “And if someone did try to impose rules, they were accused of racism.”

    After November 13, French authorities took action.

    Less than two weeks after the Paris attacks, Said Itaev, a Chechen-origin international wrestling champion, was ordered to be kept under house arrest, reporting to the local police three times a day.

    The restriction was only lifted one month later so Itaev could take part in the French championships with his club in eastern France where he was employed as a trainer.

    Chapitaux said he believes trainers are often recruiters for radical groups. He said that qualifications are nonexistent or difficult to check, but “the danger is immense because the trainer in sport influences the mind and body.”

    ‘Be strong to be useful’

    Combat sports, and martial arts in particular, are seen as a particularly good way to prepare for jihad.

    The pro-jihad website, Azzam.com, shuttered after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, produced a manual copied by other sites, which told how to prepare for action.

    “It is vital to join a martial arts club as part of the training for jihad,” it said, vaunting the need for “self-discipline.”

    “In some countries, there are martial arts run by Muslim instructors, but one can join other clubs if there are no Muslim clubs in his area.”

    Chapitaux writes in his book that militants have taken over the slogan of pioneer French physical education instructor, Georges Hebert: “Be strong to be useful.”

    Critics of the clubs point to the case of Yassine Salhi, who belonged to a combat sport club in the eastern French city of Besancon.

    In June 2015, Salhi decapitated Herve Cornara, owner of a company where he had worked near Lyon.


    People take part in a MMA (Mixed Martials Arts) training session on May 2, 2016 in Paris. (AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT)

    Chapitaux’s book also cites Pierre Choulet, a French teenager converted to Islam after meeting Frederic-Jean Salvi on a physical education course. Choulet was killed driving a truck packed with explosives in a suicide attack in Iraq in February 2015.

    Salvi became a radical during a prison term. He now teaches combat sports in the British city of Leicester.

    The radical fringe worries French club leaders.

    “A lot of vulnerable young people find a second family in these clubs,” said one mixed martial arts club owner in the Paris district.

    “I have seen people try to recruit youngsters with this profile in my gym,” the owner said. “I have protected youths from this situation.”

    French Judo Federation president Jean-Luc Rouge said the main problem is with fringe combat sports. “They are not in the mainstream and the instructors are mainly volunteers.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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