A former MMA fighter sprung into action to take down a man who confronted him with a knife.
In a Miami parking lot last Wednesday at around 4 a.m. after going out during Halloween night, ex-fighter Javier Baez was confronted by a knife-wielding man, identified as 50-year-old Omar Marrero, while sitting in his car, he told multiple outlets.
Marrero allegedly hit one of Baez’s car windows before entering the vehicle from the driver’s side door in an attempt to cut him with the knife, according to Local News 10 in Miami.
Baez then tried to cool down the temperature of the situation while getting out of the car, but that’s when Marrero allegedly grabbed another knife.
“Guy was out there screaming on the phone, literally was fighting for a while with some woman,” Baez told Miami’s CBS affiliate. “He tapped on my door window. I told him to leave me alone, and then he came at me with a knife. I told him to leave me alone. I’m calling the cops. I hope he doesn’t break my window. That’s all I cared about.”
When Marrero then allegedly attempted to charge at Baez, that’s when the former fighter — who had a 5-2-1 record in the professional ranks — took matters into his own hands.
Baez blocked off an attack from Marrero and picked up and then slammed the knife wielder to the ground in a move reminiscent of something he’d do in the ring.
“When you train so many times, it becomes just a reflex,” Baez said, according to Local News 10. “Once it came to that, it’s all instincts. I couldn’t do much but just react,” Baez told Local 10 News. “I’ve been training my whole life — black belt jiu-jitsu, wrestled in college, I’ve got eight pro fights, MMA masters. I’ve got great training partners.”
Though his last fight was in 2018 and his final win came in 2016, Baez said he had the right mindset when confronting the dangerous situation in the parking lot.
“I stayed calm, kept my balance, kept my composure,” Baez told CBS 4. “Didn’t bring him down and start beating on. Just took him down.”
After putting Marrero in a “chokehold,” Baez was able to hold down the alleged assailant with his knee and call the cops, who eventually apprehended the suspect.
Baez told Local News 10 that he was not hurt in the chaotic moment.
According to Miami-Dade County jail records, Marrero now faces charges of burglary with assault or battery and aggravated battery.
