Former UFC fighter James McSweeney foils knife-wielding robber in Vegas
He may have had a lackluster UFC career, but British MMA fighter James McSweeney proved that he has what it takes outside the Octagon last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. McSweeney and his family happened to be taking part in the popular Fremont Street Experience when he foiled a knife wielding thug who was intent on robbery.
According to McSweeney via MMAWeekly: “My family’s in town right now in Las Vegas, and they wanted to go down to old town Las Vegas last night, down on Fremont street, just check out the big TV screens and stuff down there. So they wanted to get some souvenirs so they went into one of the stores there, and as they walked I saw these two guys that looked like they were drunk, but they wasn’t really, they were just arguing. So the cashier went over to stop them from arguing cause the store was packed full of women and children, people there shopping. As they started to break it up one of the guys made a dash for the cash, the box behind the counter, and grabbed a handful of cash out and then pulled a knife out on the lady in front of everybody.”
According to McSweeney, the thief then pulled a knife with a 4 inch blade and pointed it at the cashier. Luckily the UFC and Ultimate Fighter alumnus was standing by and intervened: “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, so I just went over and grabbed from the side by his shoulder and his lapel and took the knife from him and swept him to the floor and pinned him to the ground until security came and handcuffed him and took him off. No one got hurt, that was the main thing.”
McSweeney held the thief down on the ground after disarming him until his wife ran returned with security. Sometimes, it only takes a quick mind and a pair of good hands to stop a potentially violent situation: “I knew I had the capabilities to stop it, so I tried to stop it. I mean if they pull a knife, you have to assume they have intentions to use it so that was my reaction, I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. We train everyday so we can stop these sort of things and I’m always happy to help if I can.”
McSweeney’s continued MMA career outside of the UFC has been on a definite upswing. Kudos to him for putting his skills to use and showing a more positive side of MMA to the general public.
