Oct 18, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; Ben Sosoli (blue) during a fight against Greg Hardy (not seen) in a heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Ben Sosoli sentenced to 22 months in jail for bar punch
UFC heavyweight Ben Sosoli is being sentenced 22 months in jail for an incident where he broke a man’s jaw at a bar.
According to the Australian Associated Press, Sosoli was sentenced 22 months in jail after pleading guilty to recklessly causing injury. He will serve 11 months before his eligible to apply for parole.
“You are expected not to respond to provocation in the way you did,” judge Gavan Meredith said to Sosoli on Monday, According to AAP.
While the report said Sosoli has been released from the UFC, at this point, his fighter profile remains up on UFC.com as of Monday.
Sosoli was working as a bouncer and Jacksons Lounge Bar in Melbourne, Australia when the event occurred in Sept. 2019. A customer refused service on two occasions and snuck back in after being shown out the first time.
The 30-year-old escorted the patron out both times. On the final trip out, Sosoli punched and broke the customer’s jaw. The patron eventually needed facial surgery.
The report says the UFC released Sosoli, although he remains on the UFC.com roster as of Monday.
Sosoli never captured his first octagon victory. He originally lost his UFC debut via unanimous decision to Greg Hardy at UFC on ESPN 6 in October 2019. The decision was overturned to a no contest after Hardy illegally used an inhaler between rounds.
In his most recent outing, he lost via first-round TKO to Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC on ESPN+ 26 this past February.
