CINCINNATI (AP) — A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty in a Cincinnati beating was sentenced on a reduced charge after the victim apologized to his attacker and told prosecutors he can be belligerent when he drinks.

A Hamilton County Common Pleas judge on Tuesday sentenced Michael Taylor to 18 months for aggravated assault. The prosecutor agreed to a reduced charge from the original felonious assault.

The 56-year-old victim, Robert Meehan, said he didn't remember what happened and apologized in court to Taylor for the way things turned out, saying he had a worse criminal record than Taylor, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday.

"This is probably the most ironic case I've ever had," Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. said. "The victim apologized to the defendant for assaulting him."

Meehan couldn't remember what happened because his injuries from the beating left him in a coma, Assistant Prosecutor David Prem said.

Authorities said Taylor, a 38-year-old who goes by the nickname "Madness," punched Meehan and hit him over the head with a beer bottle outside a bar on Jan. 24.

Prem said two witnesses were willing to testify that Taylor was punching the unconscious Meehan so brutally that they saw Meehan's head bounce off the concrete with each blow. His injuries included seven facial fractures, Prem said.

After his recovery, Meehan was beaten with a board in an unrelated encounter, breaking his collar bone, Prem said. A message was left Wednesday for Taylor's attorney, Rhett Baker.

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