8 hours ago
Following the revelation of being discharged from the military for assaulting his wife and threatening her with a weapon, Will Chope has been removed from Sunday's UFC Fight Night 38 card and his contract with the organization has been terminated, UFC officials confirmed to MMAWeekly.com.
A Saturday report from Bleacher Report cited Air Force Court of Appeals documents that revealed Chope in 2009 assaulted his wife a number of times, as well as threatened her with a knife at one point. As a result of his actions, Chope received five months of confinement and was discharged from the Air Force for bad conduct.
“Tonight's featherweight bout between Will Chope and Diego Brandao has been canceled after UFC officials were made aware of Chope's previous military conviction,” the organization said in a statement to MMAWeekly.com. “The UFC does not condone behavior of this nature whatsoever and Chope has been released from his contract.”
According to the documents, Chope assaulted his now-ex-wife upon learning of her infidelities. Chope was then given a nonjudicial punishment by his unit commander at that time, and was instructed not to contact his wife unless given military permission.
After receiving permission from his Master Sergeant to speak with his wife about finances, Chope assaulted her and struck her over the head with the knife handle and his hand, according to the documents. Chope has since made a statement on his Facebook page wherein he apologized after learning of his removal from Sunday’s UFC card. “My fight has been canceled for a 5 year old mistake I made,” Chope wrote. “I am truly sorry to all the fans and will do everything I can to make this right. I have spoken with my ex-wife on the phone and she supports what I am doing and together we will make a formal press release as soon as I get back to the USA on Wednesday.”
With Chope’s removal from the card, his opponent, Brandao, will receive both his show and win money.
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