A criminal in Rio de Janeiro chose the wrong victim when he tried to steal the cellphone of Polyana Viana, a professional UFC fighter. While waiting for an Uber outside her home, the man approached her, asked her the time, and then demanded her phone, threatening her with a gun. But Viana, 26 years old at the time, noticed that the weapon was too soft to be real.
Without thinking twice, the Brazilian athlete threw two punches and a kick that knocked the attacker down. Then she immobilized him with a rear-naked choke and kept him subdued until the police arrived. The “weapon” turned out to be a simple piece of cardboard, and the man was treated for his injuries before being taken to the police station.
UFC president Dana White shared on Instagram an image of the attacker with his face disfigured next to a photo of Viana, commenting: “Bad idea”. The fighter, with a 1-1 record in the organization, remained calm after the incident and even joked about White’s post, making it clear that it’s not a good idea to mess with an MMA fighter.
