Christy Mack, born Christine Mackinday, is reliving the horrific night she was brutally beaten by former boyfriend Jonathan Koppenhaver. Also known as ‘War Machine,’ Koppenhaver was a mixed martial arts fighter who viciously beat Mack and her friend Corey Thomas in her Las Vegas home on August 8, 2014.
The incident left Mack unrecognizable and horrified as she ran for her life. In a new interview with Inside Edition , Mack explains she was certain she would have died that night if she didn’t run out of her house.
Mack and Koppenhaver always had a “tumultuous” relationship, where things had gotten physical before. Mack admitted nothing ever came close to what he put her through that fateful day. She called it “a whole new level I had never experienced.”
Mack was in bed with Thomas when Koppenhaver broke into the home. He jumped on Thomas first and began beating him repeatedly in the face. Mack ran to a phone and called 911, where she can be heard screaming “Stop!” over and over on the recording.
She recalls Koppenhaver then turned his attention to her and viciously beat her for two hours. It appears he incapacitated Thomas first, so he couldn’t stop him from moving onto Mack. When he grabbed her, she says he punched out her teeth, broke her nose, and fractured her eye socket.
Former MMA star War Machine’s ex-girlfriend Christy Mack recounts the violent encounter, three years later https://t.co/KBzwP9zsR2 pic.twitter.com/Jgkim7wAN1
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 19, 2017
It was when he went downstairs in search of knives that she took the opportunity to run. If she didn’t, Mack was certain of what would happen.
“If I do not leave now, I will die.”
Mack bolted out into her backyard naked and bloody and hopped a fence to escape Koppenhaver. She knocked on multiple doors before a neighbor found her and called 911. She ended up having 18 broken bones and was hospitalized.
In March 2017, Koppenhaver endured a two-week long trial where he was convicted and sentenced to 36 years to life. The ex-MMA fighter will have a possibility of parole after 36 years.
During the trial, People reported that Mack claimed Koppenhaver told her he had to kill her . He realized how far the beating had gone and felt there was only one way out.
“Now I have to kill you. I’ve gone too far. You can’t be seen like this. Everyone’s gonna know.”
Soon after he left for the kitchen, and she heard him shuffling through drawers looking for knives. This was the moment she escaped.
Before he was sentenced, Mack admitted she was afraid if he ever got out of jail, he would kill her. She says she feels safe today with him being in prison for an extended period of time.
Now the 26-year-old model focuses herself on helping other victims of domestic abuse and dating violence.
You can watch Christy’s full interview with Inside Edition below.
[Featured Image by John Locher/AP Images]