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5 MMA fighters who fought crime

UFC 239 Jones v Santos
UFC 239 Jones v Santos

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

UFC Fight Night: Hunt v Bigfoot
UFC Fight Night: Hunt v Bigfoot

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.

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