‘INSTINCTS JUST KICKED IN’: MMA fighter filmed subduing assault suspect

Ro Malabanan was walking to his gig as a boxing instructor when he saw a man clock a construction worker.

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A fighter’s instinct also applies outside of the six-sided cage.

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In a video shared on Instagram, mixed martial artist Ro Malabanan is seen subduing a reported assault suspect in the village of Soho in New York City.

According to the New York Post, Malabanan was walking to his gig as a boxing instructor when he saw a man clock a construction worker.

Malabanan took to Instagram to tell his side of the story. After checking on the construction worker, the MMA fighter said he chased after the man and took him down from behind.

“My jiu-jitsu instincts just kicked in. I jumped on his back,” he said. “He tried to swing me off then … but for those of you in the know … a seatbelt position dragged him down to the floor, and I immediately took his back and pinned him to the ground.”

The footage — which was filmed outside the Converse store on Broadway in Manhattan — showed Malabanan sitting on the suspect’s back, with the man pinned face down.

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Malabanan said other victims of the suspect soon gathered around.

“Out of nowhere, people were like, ‘Yeah, this guy punched me in the face,’ ‘Yeah, this guy hit me,’ ‘This guy hit an old guy,’” he said.

Some of Frazier’s other reported victims then tried to kick the suspect while he was down, but Malabanan said he asked them to stop and call authorities instead.

In the video, the pinned-down suspect tried to play victim, telling Malabanan the victims “were walking into me.”

“Nah, that’s bulls***, bro, you still don’t punch people in the face for no f***ing reason,” the MMA fighter replied. Two cops eventually placed the man in handcuffs.

Cops told the New York Post the man “unprovoked” had attacked a 50-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. Samuel Frazier was subsequently charged with two counts of assault.

Malabanan has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a yellow belt in judo. His MMA career was halted due to concussions. 

He now works as a martial arts and boxing instructor with the aim of helping New Yorkers stand up to bullies by teaching them to defend themselves.