Will Chope, ex-wife issue joint statement, ask UFC to reconsider his contract status

Will Chope says he bears no ill will toward the UFC after company officials released him from his contract, but he does hope the world’s largest MMA promotion will reconsider their position.

“It’s my dream to fight in the UFC,” Chope said in a video statement sent to MMAjunkie and posted above. “I want to be the best fighter in the world. I know that’s a long shot, but the only way I’m going to do that is if I’m in the UFC, so I hope they’ll reconsider.”

The 23-year-old Chope (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) made his UFC debut in January, falling short in an entertaining scrap against Max Holloway. He was scheduled to return to action in March against Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil but was released from the promotion after the card’s official weigh-ins following a Bleacher Report article that revealed “Chope was given nonjudicial punishment by his unit commander after repeatedly assaulting his wife upon learning of her infidelity.”

The incidents in question occurred in 2009, and Chope and his then-wife Ashley have since separated. However, his ex-wife appeared alongside him in the video and said the two have become close friends and continue to work together to raise their daughter.

“I was honestly really shocked and surprised that all of this has come up once again,” she said. “It just really upsets me that all of this is causing so many issues for Will, at the moment, and I just want us to be able to just let it go and move on.”

In the video, Chope said he was “disappointed” that the Bleacher Report article was published without first asking him for comment and that much of the Air Force Court of Appeals document cited was either “exaggerated” or “wasn’t fully true.”

Chope’s ex-wife sided with him on that claim.

“It wasn’t similar to my testimony or Will’s,” she said. “It was almost as if the prosecutors and his defendant had kind of meshed both sides of our stories together, but they also seemed to figure out just ‘What will he plead guilty to?’ without even telling him what I testified to, so there was a lot I didn’t know until after I saw the documents. Once I received them, it was already just a done deal.”

Chope said while he recognized the inaccuracies of the reports prior to pleading guilty to the charges, he chose not to argue the details so that he would be rewarded with a shorter trial and just five months in jail rather than risk being incarcerated up to two years.

“Of course I took the deal,” Chope said. “That’s how the court system works. I had to play their game.”

For now, UFC officials aren’t budging on their initial decision, but Chope wants the world to know that the incident doesn’t necessarily define him as a person.

“A lot of things have changed since then,” Chope said. “I’ve moved on, and I’ve changed a lot.”

He also insists, contrary to come initial reports, that he did indeed disclose his conviction to UFC officials prior to coming aboard with the promotion. But Chope said he’s not trying to cause a stir and instead wants the world to know he regrets his actions and just hopes the promotion will give him a second chance.

“I just want to keep fighting,” Chope said. “I just want to provide for my family and be the best man, be the best fighter, I can be.”

Chope said for now he will continue to fight on Asia’s regional scene, with a return to Taiwan’s Pacific Rim Organized Fighting Championship on the horizon. But he’s not giving up hope of a return to the sport’s biggest stage.

“Of course it sucks, but I do accept it,” Chope said. “I just wish that the UFC would reconsider.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.