MMA store clerk in Houston Texas has been caught on video kicking the ass of some would-be robbers. Because of the heroic and quite entertaining act, the video of the semi-pro MMA store clerk defending his co-worker has gone viral. Not only that, one of the thieves was caught.
On Jul. 10, a group of thieves picked the wrong gas station to rob. The men attacked a Houston Texas Fuel Depot convenience store employee in the parking lot as he was returning from the bank, reports Yahoo.
He first became televised on Local 2, reports click2houston.com. This MMA store clerk turned the table on the thieves and now the video and his story has gone viral.
Amy Davis of Local 2 was able to talk to the MMA store clerk-turned-hero recently about his newly discovered fame. His name is Mayura Dissanyake, a professional mixed martial artist who fended off and surprised muggers in a gas station he was working on.
According to CNN, Dissanyake, the MMA store clerk was standing behind the counter on that fateful day. Dissanyake saw his co-worker returning to the store after a trip to the bank. Apparently, a group of men in an SUV were also watching his co-worker as they went straight for him and the bank bag.
According to CNN, Dissanyake saw the two men jump out of the SUV and attacked his co-worker. They started grabbing the bank bag he was carrying. That's when the semi-pro MMA store clerk came in to the rescue.
He rushed out to his co-worker and showed the robbers some amazing MMA skills. He was with another employee, reports Yahoo. Together, they defended the victim while the attackers taken by surprise.
The robbers probably thought that their number would put off the MMA store clerk, but the Sri Lankan fighter made his first semi-pro kick while his co-worker was being beaten on the ground. That's when the thieves realized that it wasn't their day and the guy who got kicked was taken off guard.
The whole time that the MMA store clerk was semi-pro-beating the crooks, the store's surveillance cameras were recording the scene. Dissanyake was shown kicking one of the robbers in the face in the viral video.
Fox 13 Now reports Dissanayaka saying, 'Well, just a reaction, you see someone get beat up, you just go out.'
Apparently, the robbers didn't see the MMA store clerk and another worker running towards them.
The MMA store clerk added, 'The first guy I saw, I just kicked him in the face. Then I punched the other guy.' He added that the moves were stuff he learned from cage matches since he began getting involved in mixed martial arts. The MMA store clerk has been practicing the sport for more than a decade now, according to reports.
Apparently, the MMA store clerk was also named the MMA National Champion for five consecutive years in his native Sri Lanka, apart from winnning in India's Super Fight League MMA promotion.
Dissanayake, the now famous MMA store clerk said, 'We learn how to punch, how to kick and all that stuff you can use in the streets.'
In the viral video, viewers will see the beginning to retreat towards their getaway car in a manner of seconds. Before all of them were able to get away, the MMA store clerk threw one punch which knocked one of the men to the ground. His friends could do nothing but leave him there lest they want to get beaten by the MMA store clerk too.
Dissanayake said, 'They were waiting for them, but when they were running back, I caught one guy with a hook, so he fell down, so they just left him.'
Apparently, one of the thieves wanted to go back for his accomplice but decided against it when the MMA store clerk advanced towards him. In the end, they left the man Dissanayake knocked out. The MMA store clerk had to put the man into submission until the police arrived.
The MMA store clerk said, 'I just kicked him until he lays down on the floor. Until he stopped moving cause I wasn't sure if he had a knife or a gun so I wanted him to stop moving.'
The man police arrested was later identified as 33-year-old Odell Mathis. Mathis had been charged with robbery with bodily injury. Apparently, he is also a suspect in a chain of similar robberies, reports Yahoo.
Currently, Mathis has already bonded out of the Harris County Jail.
Although Mathis' accomplices got away, customers are saying that the story is a 'feel good' one, unless of course you are one of the robbers.
The viral video of the MMA store clerk has grabbed the attention of social media. Click2houston.com reports that on Facebook, viewers are saying, 'Kudos to the store clerk' and 'I want this guy for my bodyguard.'
Local 2 posted the story on Click2Houston.com, and to date, the viral video of the MMA store clerk has already garnered up to 4.5 million views worldwide.
Dissanyake told Local 2, 'I love it. I'm having so much fun reading the comments, messages, everything.'
Dissanyake woke up last week and found some 500 Facebook friend requests. He also has a Facebook fan page. For his part, all the MMA store clerk is hoping from the fame is more fans seeing him fight in the ring.
The MMA store clerk said, 'Whenever I have more fans, then I'm going to have more fights because people are coming to see me, so the promoters like that.'
Rightfully so, the MMA store clerk is not only famous in the United States as newspapers and media outlets in his native Sri Lanka are also aware of the tale. His friends and family back home have also labeled him a hero.
MMA store clerk will be fighting at the Bayou City Event Center on Aug. 23, reports Local 2. You can go there to see his kickass moves in person.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
