Rio mugger attempts to rob UFC fighter Polyana Viana, also known as ‘The Iron Lady’. Bloody bad idea
- UFC strawweight says she was waiting for an Uber when she was approached by a man claiming to have a gun. The results weren’t pretty
A robber who tried to steal a mobile phone from a young woman in Rio de Janeiro learned the hard way that mugging a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who goes by the nickname “The Iron Lady” is not an excellent idea.
Polyana Viana, an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight, brought the hapless perp down with two punches and a kick and held him in a “rear-naked choke” before making him sit and wait for the police, she told the sports website MMA Junkie.
The attempted crime happened late Saturday as Viana, 27, was waiting for an Uber outside her flat.
She said the man told her he had a gun but she surmised it probably wasn’t real and in any case “he won’t have time to draw it” before she went into action.
“He was really close to me. So I thought: ‘If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it’. So I stood up. I threw two punches and a kick.
“He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said: ‘Now we’ll wait for the police’.”
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After subduing the assailant she discovered the weapon was in fact a cardboard replica of a pistol.
Viana posted images of the would-be robber, looking dejected and bruised, with blood on his sleeveless shirt and on a hand, as she kept his arm in a “kimura-like position” – locking the attacker’s arm behind his back using her own legs and arms – until the police arrived.
“Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared,” she told the site.
She said that, after the suspect’s processing by police and treatment for his injuries, she went home and made dinner.
Her hands hurt a bit the next day, but nothing serious and she was otherwise unharmed.
Viana has won 10 of her 12 professional fights, and is known for finishing off opponents quickly. Until a loss on points in August she had won five fights in succession in the first round.
Muggings are a constant risk in Rio and other cities in Brazil. The country’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, was elected on promises to crack down on crime.
Agence France-Presse, The Guardian
