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For MMA fighters, martial arts is a craft to be plied in exchange for money. Training in all manner of disciplines from Muay Thai and boxing to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and freestyle wrestling is a means to a lucrative end. While (most) fighters are controlled and sane enough to not work their trade on hapless everyday citizens, there are times when action outside of the ring must be taken.
Most people who take up martial arts, do so in order to better defend themselves should any danger come calling their way. Some professional fighters, such as Georges St-Pierre, specifically took up training to defend themselves from theft and assault when they were much younger. Many martial arts more than live up to the 'martial' in their name, providing practitioners the instincts and movements necessary to handle a real-life attacker.
With their extraordinary mix of strength, speed, stamina, striking, grappling and mobility, MMA fighters are the last people a petty crook would want to confront. The five MMA fighters on this list have proven exactly why by dealing with lawbreakers in a variety of painful ways.
#5. MMA middleweight veteran Nick Ring
Former professional boxer and The Ultimate Fighter contestant Nick Ring (14-4) showed off his cardio while dealing with a gang of muggers in 2012. Ring was stepping out of a Calgary Starbucks when he spotted a gang of teenagers assaulting a couple.
The group were attempting to steal a backpack, going so far as to viciously knee the woman holding it in the head repeatedly. Disgusted by the display, Ring jumped into action, charging full speed ahead at the commotion. Spooked by the incoming Ring, along with another angered bystander, the pack of attackers fled the scene.
After checking up on the victims of the attack, Ring chased down some of the assailants whilst calling the police. ’The Promise’ used his MMA skills to subdue the ones he caught until the police turned up. The former Bellator MMA and Hard Knocks fighter later revealed that authorities arrested an additional half-dozen suspects shortly thereafter.
#4. Former Bellator MMA and UFC middleweight Ryan Jensen
Could these thieves have picked a worse target than MMA stalwart Ryan Jensen?
Jensen (21-8) was leaving his gym in Omaha, Nebraska one night when he discovered the trunk of his car had been broken into. Every valuable he’d kept in the car was gone, including his garage door opener.
Worried about a potential home burglary and dissatisfied with the police’s response, Jensen took matters into his own hands. Thanks to the CCTV at his gym, Jensen found out what car the perpetrators were driving when they committed the crime.
In the midst of his amateur detective work, Jensen received several notifications of his credit cards being used at the local Walmart. Already $300 down by this point, Jensen and one of his fighting colleagues tracked the pair down and chased them through the Walmart.
After the pair were arrested, it turned out they’d burgled five other cars before Jensen’s. Goodness knows how many more they might’ve swindled had the UFC, Bellator MMA and Victory Fighting Championship journeyman not taken a stand.
#3. Former MMA catchweight fighter Ben Fodor
The younger foster brother of MMA lightweight veteran Caros Fodor has become something of an urban legend thanks to his Phoenix Jones alter ego. Starting in 2011, the World Series of Fighting combatant was a part of the Rain City Superhero Movement in Seattle, Washington. Essentially the real-life equivalent of the Kick-Ass movies, the RCSM was composed of citizens in colorful, superhero garb patrolling the streets.
Fodor’s decision to move into masked vigilantism came on account of his dissatisfaction with police and lack of neighborhood watches in his area. He revealed that having his car broken into and his best friend getting assaulted at a bar were the final straws.
Under his Phoenix Jones pseudonym, the masked and costumed Fodor has been in the press on and off for years. His antics have included chasing down car thieves, breaking up fights and pepper spraying rowdy club goers.
Professionally, Fodor has an MMA record of 7-3-1. His last fight came in 2017 where he was defeated by Austin Vanderford via unanimous decision at CageSport 47.
#2. Former UFC welterweight champion and MMA legend Matt Serra
MMA star Matt Serra probably wasn’t expecting he’d have to fight in Las Vegas again for his 2018 Hall of Fame induction. The former UFC welterweight champ went to a restaurant the night before his induction to enjoy a spot of dinner. Unfortunately for Serra, a severely inebriated patron had other ideas.
The drunken customer’s loud and unwieldy behaviour gradually turned into something much more alarming. Aggressively threatening the restaurant staff, the increasingly violent individual found himself face to face with a master of BJJ.
Taking a break from eating to set the guy straight, Serra displayed his exceptional grappling prowess after the customer threw a shot at him. Effortlessly dismantling the threatening troublemaker with his MMA knowledge, Serra kept him pinned to the ground until police arrived to resolve the matter.
Despite the customer saying “I’m going to f*** you up” to ‘The Terror’, his well-deserved induction into the pioneer wing of the UFC’s Hall of Fame went off without a hitch.
#1. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones
UFC 128 hosted the biggest fight of a young Jon Jones’ MMA career up to that point. The then-23 year old Jones was all set to challenge light heavyweight champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in the main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Understandably tense on the day of his huge MMA fight, Jones decided he needed to get away from the hustle and bustle and have some quiet time. He went with MMA coaches Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson to the park for a bit of fresh air. On the drive over, the three witnessed a robbery taking place.
The assailant launched an attack on an old couple’s car, breaking their window and robbing them before attempting to run off. Jones’ coaches both hopped out to go after the criminal. Both of them were outrun by the younger ‘Bones’ who charged in with reckless abandon. Fearing for the challenger’s safety right before his fight, both coaches called for Jones to steer clear and avoid the risk of injury.
Instead, Jones locked the robber up with a figure four on the pavement until police arrived on the scene. Jones went on to defeat Rua via TKO in round three, becoming the youngest UFC champion in history in the process.
