Community Outraged, As MMA Fighter Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison For Defending Himself

Matt Coakley is an amateur mixed martial artist that recently found himself in serious trouble with the law. After being involved in a bar fight, the competitor was sentenced to years in prison.

Coakley was visiting a bar in Raleigh, N.C., where the fighter entered a verbal altercation with fellow bar patron Denny Clark. The altercation quickly became physical after the two bumped into each other within the establishment’s bathroom.

Clark ultimately suffered permanent damage to his eye. Coakley was sentenced to eight years in prison for the altercation.

Speaking to ABC 11, the fighter’s mother Lorin Coakley offered a statement concerning the altercation.

“Denny came out of the stall and walked the length of the bathroom and came at Matt and I guess they exchanged some words and Denny put his hands on Matt’s throat….” The mother stated.

She then claimed that Coakley was sober during the altercation and was not the aggressor. The fighter’s hefty sentence has since attracted the attention of fight fans.

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