UFC star Polyana Viana has explained exactly how she beat up a man who tried to rob her using a cardboard gun.
The “Iron Lady” was minding her own business outside her apartment in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night when the man approached her, said he had a gun, and demanded her cellphone.
Viana, who has a 10-2 MMA record, noticed that the “gun” was bent so she sprung into action.
“[I] thought, ‘That’s not a real gun.’ So, I got up and threw 2 hooks,” Viana told TMZ. “After that [I] just threw a kick to his face and that’s the damage you all saw in the photos. He sat where he was and [I] grabbed him in a rear naked choke. He tried to hip escape a little bit. [I] was afraid he had a knife or anything that could hurt [me.] So, [I] didn’t want to lose that position.”
Shortly thereafter cops arrived on the scene and arrested the well-beaten attempted thief.
UFC president Dana White took to Instagram shortly after the incident writing: “On the left is @polyanaviana, one of our @UFC fighters and on the right is the guy who tried to rob her #badf—ingidea.”
On Wednesday, White went a step further in his praise for Viana by setting up her next fight. The 115-pound strawweight will take on Hannah Cifers (8-3) at UFC 235 on March 3 in Las Vegas, according to ESPN.