The veteran mixed martial arts fighter Benji Radach will fight Murilo "Ninja" Rua on Saturday night in the EliteXC: Heat show on CBS. But no matter how well he performs in the cage, he's not going to be able to top what he once did at a restaurant.Radach was out to eat at a diner in Vancouver when he saw that a man was pointing a gun in the face of the woman behind the counter. So, he says, he walked up to the man and put his MMA experience to use: He grabbed the robber's wrist with one hand and punched him in the face with the other.
Radach tells the story in this interview:
Q: Rumor has it you were involved in a little incident in Vancouver a few years back at an Elmer's Restaurant?Radach is officially the closest thing MMA has to Jules Winfield and Vincent Vega.
A:Yes, that's not rumor. It's a true deal. A guy came in with a loaded gun and had it against the face of the girl behind the cash register and I was eating breakfast with Dennis Hallman and my girlfriend and her sister. This little girl came up to our table crying about how this guy had a gun and I turn around sure enough this guy had the gun right in the chick's face, cussing and swearing and making a big racket. And I was like "Oh my god, this is really happening." Everyone thinks about what they would do in that situation and there it was, right in front of me.
I just made the quick decision. I saw that he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings and that he was really focused on the girl in front of him and the general manager to his left. I was about 70 feet off to his right so he wasn't looking. So I was like "Man, I am going to snag this guy." If I could get close to him without him seeing me and shooting me, I knew I could get him. I didn't want to sprint in case he'd hear me so I just aggressively walked up quietly and fast and grabbed the gun out of her face and wrist-locked him to his back and dropped one big right hand and fractured his jaw and knocked him unconscious and moved him off to the side and saved the day.
Now I am just trying to get the footage because it was caught on a surveillance camera. If I can get that, it would be pretty sweet. I think it would be cool for MMA because there are so negative ways in which people try to portray MMA and this is one good thing.
MORE MMA: Oscar De La Hoya: 'I Think the Opportunities Are Endless With Mixed Martial Arts'
Freddie Roach Thinks Andrei Arlovski Can Beat Fedor, Then Be a Successful Boxer
Golden Boy CEO Talks MMA, Expects to Promote Fedor Emelianenko on January 24
UFC 92: Griffin-Evans, Mir-Nogueira and Wanderlei-Rampage Make for 3 Main Events
Athletes to the Rescue
Benji Radach teaches an armed robber that it's never wise to mess with a mixed martial arts fighter. While Radach was out to eat at a diner, he used his MMA skills to take down a man with a loaded gun who tried to rob the cash register. Click through to see some other heroes from the world of sports.
Ross Dettman, Getty Images
Tony Romo is well known for being a star quarterback and the boyfriend of singer Jessica Simpson, but for one Texas couple, he's also a knight in shining armor. Returning home after the Cowboys beat the Browns, Romo pulled over to assist Bill and Sharon White, who were stranded on the side of the road after their car tire blew out.
Scott Boehm, Getty Images
On July 3, Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez came to the aid of man choking to death in a Huntington Beach restaurant. "Tony saved my life. There's no doubt," the Chargers fan said.
Greg Trott, Getty Images
Former college and NFL star Brian Bosworth recently came to the aid of a woman who crashed her car into a ditch in Canada.
Bernstein Associates / Getty Images
Criminals should think twice before entering the home of Noah Herron. The Packers running back used a post from his bed to foil a burglar in June.
Getty Images
NASCAR's Dario Franchitti was caught without his pants on, but not without his wits, when a would-be robber surprised him in his home in January. Franchitti, wearing just his boxers, used his car (naturally) to help track down the intruder.
John Raoux, AP
A man who tried to extort an acquaintance of Terrell Brandon in February got more than he bargained for when the former NBA star set a trap for the crook and then snared him with the help of a friend.
Andy Hayt, NBAE / Getty Images
Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama and two teammates chased down a man who stole an armful of Wildcats football jerseys from a store in 2006. "I am glad we could help out," Tuitama said.
Elaine Thompson, AP
Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe Delaney died in 1983 while attempting to rescue three drowning children in a Louisiana pond. One child was saved, but Delaney and two kids did not survive. Delaney was posthumously awarded the President's Citizen's Medal.
Dan Peak, Kansas City Star / MCT
Longtime NFL kicker Norm Johnson helped save a woman whose car overturned car in a water-filled ditch in December, 2007. Johnson, who lives in Silverdale, Wash., where the accident occurred, used a large rock to break a window before pulling the woman to safety.
Rick Stewart, Getty Images
Get the latest gear
