When UFC fighter Polyana Viana beat up a mugger who tried to rob her
UFC strawweight fighter Polyana Viana had to deal with a mugger back in 2019, outside her apartment in Rio De Janeiro. While she was waiting for an Uber, the man approached Polyana Viana and demanded her phone, claiming to be armed. 'The Iron Lady' brought the hapless perp down with two punches and a kick and subdued him with a rear-naked choke till the police arrived.
As reported by MMA Junkie, Polyana Viana was waiting for an Uber at around 8 PM outside her apartment in Jacarepagua, a neighborhood in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro. According to Polyana Viana, the miscreant must have been sneaky as he was already quite close to her when he caught her attention -
"When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me. He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, ‘Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed.’ Then he put his hand over (a gun), but I realized it was too soft."
How Polyana Viana kept her cool.
Polyana Viana would later find out that the mugger wasn't carrying a real gun but just a cardboard cut out. However, as the robber would realize, it's best that your target is not a woman who fights for a living if you are planning on carrying a cardboard copy of a gun. While describing how the situation unfolded, Polyana Viana told MMA Junkie-
"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.'"
Polyana Viana was alone at the time and asked passers by for help to call the police. She also immobilized the dejected mugger's hand with a kimura till the police arrived. As stated by Polyana Viana, he was rushed to an emergency care facility before being taken to the police station.