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UFC fighters are some of the most remarkable individuals on the planet. They are incredible athletes and highly skilled martial artists with steely hearts and minds.
Among these one-of-a-kind UFC fighters are the consummate gentlemen of MMA, all of whom fight fans around the world regard as role models and classically good people. They are Georges St-Pierre, Robert Whittaker, and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, to name a few. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the most golden-hearted mixed martial artists who pursue a life of adrenaline in the octagon engage in real-life heroics at times.
While some have only done good deeds once or twice at the most, there are other mixed martial artists like Kevin Holland who have reportedly engaged in multiple crime-stopping endeavors. The 'Trailblazer' has been credited with so many heroic deeds that UFC president Dana White himself described his fighter as a superhero for his frequent altruism outside the octagon. This list explores five times that UFC fighters were real-life superheroes.
#5. Derrick Lewis saves Texans during Hurricane Harvey
In his own words, 'The Black Beast' has always been the kind of person to lend a helping hand to those in need. Back in 2017, Derrick Lewis had just suffered a TKO loss at the hands of then UFC fighter Mark Hunt. In his position, most fighters would have resigned themselves to licking their wounds and avoid the cameras as they rebuild their pride. Lewis, however, did no such thing. As a Texas native, he felt an ethical obligation to aid the people affected by Hurricane Harvey.
With nothing but his truck, 'The Black Beast' reportedly saved a 100 people from being drowned in flood waters caused by the hurricane in Houston, Texas. Among the people he saved was a man that Lewis described as "wanting to retrieve his Confederate flag." Ever the Good Samaritan, the heavyweight knockout artist brushed aside the man's apologies, telling him not to worry and saved him nonetheless; Confederate flag and all. After his heroics, Lewis rebounded from his loss to Mark Hunt with a third round knockout win over Marcin Tybura at a UFC Fight Night event headlined by Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros.
#4. UFC welterweight fighter Kevin Holland stops a carjacking
The year 2021 was not the best for Kevin Holland. He suffered back-to-back losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori before ending the year with a no-contest decision after an accidental clash of heads with Kyle Daukaus. The narrative at the time was that 'Trailblazer' needed to devote more time to improving the deficiencies in his skill-set, namely his wrestling. Thus, no one expected to hear much about the welterweight contender until his next bout was announced.
Yet little more than 2 days after his final UFC bout in 2021, Holland captured headlines for his heroic actions. He found himself involved in a maddening car chase. He pursued an accused carjacker before finally reaching him. The multi-divisional contender tackled the alleged thief, using his grappling experience from MMA to subdue the carjacker and neutralize him until local authorities arrived to make the arrest. It was the first of many instances in which Holland would engage in heroics.
#3. Kevin Holland stops gunman
While UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis is known to have saved roughly a 100 lives from the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey back in 2017, he is not the only fighter to have endeared himself to Houston, Texas for his altruism. Only five months after stopping a carjacking, Kevin Holland found himself in Houston. He was in the company of one of his training partners, Patrick Robinson. The two were enjoying sushi before the sound of a gunshot and the sight of terrified people fleeing the scene caught their attention.
Within moments, the two sighted a man attempting to disarm the gunman. Both Holland and Robinson rushed to the man's aid, helping him subdue the gunman until local law enforcement arrived to make the arrest. After recounting the incident, the 'Trailblazer' asserted that he'd never recommend that anyone else take the same actions he did, for he trains in self-defense alongside mixed martial arts, rendering him better prepared for such situations than the average person.
#2. Kevin Holland recovers stolen perfume
Yet again, Kevin Holland reminded the world of his heroism. While he was alone when he stopped the carjacker, and in the company of his training partner when he helped subdue the gunman at the sushi restaurant, the 'Trailblazer' was alongside his manager Oren Hodak when he stopped a perfume thief. Less than a day before his recent bout with Tim Means, a fight Holland went on to win via second-round submission, the hard-hitting welterweight chased down the perfume thief in question after the man shouted to another about stolen goods in his possession.
As Holland pursued the thief, his manager stayed behind, allowing his more athletic client to engage in what the 'Trailblazer' himself described as a good pre-fight workout. While Hodak, Holland's manager, claims to have not witnessed his client apprehend the thief, he did see him return with several bottles of perfume. Recovering the stolen goods to continue his heroic streak is definitely not the last incident that the welterweight contender will find himself in.
#1. Jon Jones apprehends thief
Jon 'Bones' Jones has had more negative brushes with the law than positive ones. But before UFC 128, the lanky light heavyweight could do no wrong. He was hours away from a historic title fight with MMA legend Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in a matchup that saw Jones capture the light heavyweight championship in dominant fashion, becoming the youngest UFC champion in history. Prior to his star-making performance, 'Bones' and his coaches sought to meditate.
Their plans were interrupted when an elderly couple cried out for help. When approached by Jones and his team, the couple revealed that their car window had been shattered and a thief ran off with their GPS. Jones and his coaches pursued the thief, catching him and recovering the elderly couple's GPS. The thief was subdued and restrained until the arrival of local law enforcement. It remains one of the few altruistic incidents in the former light heavyweight champion's career.
