Brett "The Grim" Rogers, a heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter, has admitted that he beat his wife in Apple Valley, knocking her out.
Rogers, 30, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a felony, in Dakota County District Court on Thursday and faces up to five years in prison.
Neighbors called police June 29 after hearing a woman's screams and glass breaking. One reported seeing Rogers standing over his wife, punching her repeatedly in the head and face as she lay on a back lawn, a complaint says.
Police found her walking near a school. At first, she was reluctant to tell them what happened, court papers say.
In an ambulance, the spouse, identified only as T.R. in the complaint, told an officer and paramedics that she and Rogers were arguing when he choked her. She ran to the back yard, where he caught up with her and began hitting her head and face, causing her to black out. She suffered a golf-ball-size lump above her left brow, more bumps on her forehead, injuries to her jaw and ear and a knocked-out tooth.
Later, she refused to meet with police and told them the assault was her fault, the complaint says.
Three counts of domestic abuse by strangulation, pattern-of-stalking conduct and child endangerment were dropped in the plea arrangement. Rogers is to be sentenced Nov. 30.
JOY POWELL
