Hardonk Pulls a Dennis Hallman

One minute you're trying to steal a wallet, the next you're getting axe-kicked in the head.

There’s a story going around about Antoni Hardonk (8-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC), one of the leading purveyors of leg kicks that make me cringe, breaking up an armed robbery in downtown LA after robbers pulled a knife on him and subsequently ran away, deciding that taking on the 6′4, 240+ pound K-1 veteran was not such a good idea.

The extent of the beatdown was probably not quite as intense as some of the beatdowns the Dutchman has dished out to previous opponents, but it’s always nice when an professional fighter chooses to prevent a crime instead of committ it (yeah, I’m talking about you, Lee Murray).

Of course, this isn’t the first time an MMA fighter has been a hero in a situation like this. Dennis Hallman (39-12-2-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Benji Radach (19-5-0-1 MMA, 1-1-0-1 UFC) stopped an armed robbery in a restaraunt back in 2006 in what has proven to be one of the best feel good stories (and general random knowledge tidbits) in MMA.

I will say, though, having met Antoni Hardonk, I would not pull a knife on the guy. I realize that you can’t see skill, but he’s a huge dude in great physical shape with legs the size of tree trunks. You don’t need to be a hardcore fan of combat sports to realize that he’s not a good guy to try and rob.