Larry Brown Sports

James McSweeney may only be slightly above average as an MMA fighter, but he’s a superstar when it comes to stopping robberies.

The 31-year-old Muay Thai expert thwarted an armed robbery attempt at a convenience store in Las Vegas on Wednesday, and even tweeted about the incident (presumably using the hand that wasn’t holding down the thief):

Just stopped a robbery in old town las vegas, guy had knife and grabbed handful of $, I took his knife and held him til security arrived!

— James McSweeney (@mcsweeneymma) August 16, 2012

McSweeney spoke with MMA Weekly a day later to provide more details about the incident.

McSweeney says he was showing his family members, who were visiting from England, around Fremont Street in Las Vegas and they went to a store to pick up souvenirs.

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In case you haven’t figured it out by now, robbers getting KTFO have become one of my favorite stories here at LBS. Last month, there was a guy whose attempted motel robbery was thwarted by a couple of MMA experts. Then a few weeks ago, there was the mugger who tried to hold up a UFC fighter and ended up in the hospital with a battered face. And now we have this.

A gunman walked into a We Buy Gold store in Hendersonville, N.C. and demanded money. The store clerk, Derek Mothershead, handed him the money, and then dropped him with a monstrous left hook. Check out the video:

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If you’re going to pick somebody to rob, make sure it’s not an MMA expert. Otherwise you’re liable to have your face pounded like this purple-faced clown.

The dude pictured is 24-year-old Anthony Miranda. He’s already done time for two burglary cases in 2005, and he was out on parole. It’s pretty obvious the dude is an amateur, because when he’s not getting caught, he’s getting beat up.

Miranda probably figured he was going to score some cash Friday night during a routine mugging in Chicago. Yeah, one problem: the guy whose car he walked up to happened to be a UFC fighter.

Here’s apparently how the whole thing shook down.

Miranda walks up to the car and asks the intended victim — a 6’2″ 240-pound hulk named “Justin,” — if he had a light for a cigarette. Miranda then pulled out a gun, demanded Justin’s valuables, and ordered him out of the car. From there, a struggle ensued and Justin went all HAM on the robber.

From the looks of things, I’d say Justin got in a few punches to the eyes, and elbow to the nose, and probably a few knees for good measure.

Not pictured: Miranda’s ankle, which was shot when the two fought over the gun. Miranda ended up in the hospital, as you could imagine.

The police report says Justin held Anthony until police arrived. He told officers he was a UFC fighter who had military training in hostage rescue. I’d offer more commentary, but I’m off to my MMA class to learn how to be a badass.

Also see: MMA fighters thwart motel robbery

Fist pound to The Big Lead.

Turns out having mixed martial arts and/or wrestling experience can come in handy during real life. You may recall in August when we told you about the Delgado sisters — two collegiate wrestlers that used their moves to take down a hit-and-run suspect. Then in March, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Bones Jones subdued a robber before his fight against Shogun Rua. And last week, a couple of MMA experts were able to thwart a robbery attempt at a Los Angeles hotel by using some jiu-jitsu.

Check out the news report:

Always have to watch out for that rear naked choke. If you’re not prepared to defend it, it’s going to get you every time.

Love the story, but one quick question: If they were attending a convention in Long Beach, what the heck were they doing staying at a hotel in downtown LA? Good thing these guys are better with fighting than they are with maps.

One man who allegedly tried to flee the scene of an accident picked the wrong car to hit. Sisters Brittany (pictured) and Brienna Delgado, who are members of the Oklahoma City University wrestling team, were driving with their grandmother when they collided with a car last weekend. They noticed the other driver trying to flee on foot and that’s when Brienna started chasing after him, with her sister following behind.

Brienna says she caught the man and tackled him. He landed with his hands beneath him, so Brienna used a wrestling move known as the chicken wing to bring his hands behind his back.

Brienna told The Oklahoman she realized the man might have a gun or knife, so she quickly tried to secure his hands. The sisters held the man until police arrived to the scene.

“We do several moves where you stop your opponents,” Brittany Delgado said. “My sister and I are very proficient wrestlers and also played football in high school, so we know about tackling.”

People who know the young ladies say the story comes as no surprise.

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To say Jon Bones Jones had a nice little Saturday would be an enormous understatement. We’re not talking Bed Bath and Beyond or Home Depot, either.  On Saturday night, Jones defeated Shogun Rua in the third round to claim the light heavyweight championship and prove his confidence was warranted.  Hours before the fight, Jones was serving the American public in New Jersey.

According to TMZ.com, Jones was meditating at a park in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon — something he always does before a fight — when he heard a woman scream, “I’ve been robbed!”  The perpetrator quickly realized he had made his move in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Bones chased him down, took him to the ground, and slapped him in a figure-four leg lock until the police arrived.  The champ later confirmed the incident with a tweet that read, “I caught him….Coach Jackson finished him … It feels so good to help others. It gives me power and energy,” and this accompanying photo.

The world works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? A guy tries to rob a woman and of all the places in the world to do that he happens to do it within earshot of a mixed martial artist who is trying to prepare for a championship bout.  What are the odds?