Strawweight fighter Monique Bastos was on the way for her jiu-jitsu training with two friends in Acailandia, Brazil, on Tuesday night, when two men attacked her. They wanted their phones, but they had no idea Bastos was an MMA fighter.
"I was going to my jiu-jitsu training when they arrived on a motorcycle and said they wanted our phones," Bastos told MMAFighting.com. "I tried to hold my phone, and I realized they were not armed. When they tried to escape, I lifted the rear wheel of the bike and they fell on the ground. The guy who took my phone ran away, but I was able to get the other one."
Bastos, who has six professional MMA fights on her record and a few jiu-jitsu matches and muay thai bouts, got him into a rear-naked choke and took him to the sidewalk, where she locked a triangle choke and waited for the police.
Wesley Sousa de Araujo was arrested 15 minutes later, and that was not the first time Bastos had to stop a robbery.
"I’ve been through this a few times before, and it’s the second time I fought back," she said. "There were two guys, and they were using knives, but I was able to use my jiu-jitsu and get my phone back. It’s a huge risk, but I did it to defend myself and my friends, so I used what I learned."
Bastos was scheduled to fight for Jungle Fight recently, but was forced out of the bout due to illness. She’s not under contract with the promotion.
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