Chael Sonnen Reaches Plea Deal in Criminal Case for December 2021 Hotel Incident

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Chael Sonnen has reached a plea deal after being accused of attacking multiple people at a Las Vegas hotel in December 2021.

Sonnen pleaded no contest on Wednesday to a charge of misdemeanor breach of the peace in Las Vegas Justice Court and was fined $750, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a result of the plea deal, four previous misdemeanor battery charges were dismissed by judge Ann Zimmerman. Two misdemeanor charges were also dismissed last September. Sonnen did not appear in court, and the case is now closed without further conditions or jail time.

The former UFC title challenger initially faced multiple misdemeanor battery charges — including felony battery by strangulation — for an alleged incident that occurred on Dec. 18, 2021. The felony battery charge was dropped in March 2022, and five other misdemeanors were dismissed by the court without prejudice. Sonnen was accused of choking one man, striking a woman and punching or kneeing others in the face at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas. One couple, Christopher and Julie Stellpflug, filed a lawsuit — which is still ongoing, according to the reort — against Sonnen as a result of the incident. Sonnen was accused of punching Christopher Stellpflug in the head and choking him and also of punching Julie Stellpflug in the face.

The 46-year-old Sonnen last fought at Bellator 222, where he fell to Lyoto Machida via second-round TKO on June 14, 2019. He owns a 31-17-1 record in MMA and challenged for middleweight and light heavyweight gold during a memorable UFC stint. Sonnen has served as an analyst for ESPN and runs his own grappling promotion, Submission Underground.