MMA Fighter Ro Malabanan Pins Serial Street Puncher

Mixed martial artist Ro Malabanan pinned a homeless man who was attacking random people in the middle of Manhattan’s Soho district.

The incident unfolded as Malabanan walked out of a subway station near Broadway and saw two men walking toward him, when a third man, “sucker punched” one of the men in the side of the face, the MMA fighter explained.

Malabanan said he checked on the victim and told him to call the police. Only moments later, two other people pulled up and said the suspect had been punching people as he walked down Broadway. One of those individuals suggested they try to stop the assailant.

“Alright, I’m down,” Malabanan responded. He ran after the reported assailant, who was already a block away, and his “jiu-jitsu instinct just kicked in,” he said. Malabanan is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a yellow belt.

“I jumped on his back. He tried to swing me off then, but for those of you that don’t know, a seat belt position dragged him down to the floor and I immediately took his back and pinned him on the ground,” Malabanan continued. “All of this happened in less than a minute.”

The fighter checked the suspect’s pockets to make sure he wasn’t carrying any weapons, he said. While he pinned the suspect, several other people approached claiming they’d also been punched by the man.

“That’s bullsh*t bro, you still don’t punch people in the f*cking face for no reason,” Malabanan can be heard in another video responding to the suspect’s claims that someone had been “walking into [him].”

Six people reported they were victims of the individual.

Malabanan said that he’s often been harassed in New York City over his Asian heritage. While his professional fighting career was put on pause due to concussions, he is a martial arts and boxing instructor and a hopeful actor.