Mixed martial artist Ro Malabanan pinned a homeless man reportedly attacking random people in the middle of Manhattan’s Soho district in late July.
The incident reportedly occurred as Malabanan walked out of a subway station near Broadway and saw two men walking toward him, as seen in footage and commentary shared on his Instagram. A third man, the alleged suspect, “sucker punched” one of the men in the side of the face in front of the fighter, Malabanan explained in one of the videos.
Malabanan checked on the victim and told him to call the cops, he continued. Within moments, two other people pulled up and claimed the suspect had been punching people as he walked down Broadway, Malabanan explained. One of those individuals suggested they intervene to stop the assailant.
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“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 noted. Malabanan is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a yellow belt in judo, according to the New York Post.
“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 in the video. “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, a number of other people approached and claimed they’d also been punched by the man, according to Malabanan’s report. Some of those people tried to attack the suspect, but Malabanan says he instructed them all to call law enforcement instead.
“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].” (RELATED: Award-Winning Actor Dev Patel Stops Knife Fight)
In their initial investigation, the New York Police Department found the suspect had punched a 50-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy in the head, according to the NY Post. Malabanan reported at least six people were victims of the individual.
Malabanan told the NY Post 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, according to the outlet.