Ex-MMA Fighter’s Jaw-Dropping Defense Against Knife-Wielding Assailant!
Ex-MMA Fighter Javier Baez Thwarts Armed Assailant with Jiu-Jitsu Chokehold”
In a startling encounter, former professional MMA fighter Javier Baez subdued an aggressive knife-wielding man outside his apartment in Cutler Bay, Fla., early Wednesday morning. The assailant, identified as Omar Marrero, confronted Baez with a large knife, but Baez, utilizing his extensive combat training, neutralized the threat until police intervened.
At approximately 4 a.m., as Baez sat in his car, Marrero, wielding a 14-inch blade, approached and struck the vehicle’s window. According to surveillance footage released by Baez, Marrero, armed with a second knife, charged, only to be taken down forcefully by Baez. A practiced martial artist and a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Baez applied a chokehold that ensured Marrero could not continue his assault.
Marrero, 50, now faces two felony battery charges, to which he has entered a plea of not guilty. This incident highlights Baez’s preparedness, derived from his background, including wrestling in college, achieving a 5-2-1 record in pro MMA fights, and training with elite partners at MMA Masters gym.
Reflecting on the encounter, Baez shared his instincts kicked in automatically.
“Second nature,” he described the event. “When you practice every day, you don’t think about it.” His decisiveness not only protected himself but potentially saved others from harm. “Once I started putting the choke in, he just started letting it go,” Baez recounted to WPLG Local 10, emphasizing the effectiveness of his training. “No one is worried about anything else but breathing when you’re losing air.”
Baez’s last professional fight may have been in 2018, but this encounter has surely reaffirmed the practicality and importance of martial arts training in everyday life.
Whoa Javier Baez in Miami got attacked by some random with a knife but shows why wrestling is important to know pic.twitter.com/zxVcE2T3AW
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 3, 2023
Florida Man attacks former MMA fighter with a 14 inch knife
Gets grappled to the ground and subdued pic.twitter.com/C6PKh2w3UR
— BJJotter (@JiujitsuOtter) November 5, 2023
