While dozens of professional athletes have been fined, suspended, or subjected to other discipline for misdemeanor and felony convictions, and often merely arrests, Will Chope, a promising twenty-three-year-old mixed martial artist, recently found himself being retroactively disciplined for something he did five years ago.
Chope was scheduled to fight at the UFC Fight Night 38 event in Brazil on March 23, 2014, but his fight was canceled the morning of the bout. The day before, bleacherreport.com published information regarding Chope’s discharge from the Air Force after he had repeatedly assaulted his then-wife and threatened her with a knife in 2009. According to the report, Chope received a sentence of five months confinement and a bad conduct discharge. Although Chope was only one fight into a three-fight contract with the UFC, his fight was canceled and he was released from the contract that morning. The UFC released this statement:
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 UFC does not condone behavior of this nature whatsoever and Chope has been released from his contract.
