UFC fighter decks alleged thief who tried to break into his car

UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis has shared video on social media of the moment he caught a man trying to break into his car was arrested.

The 36-year-old fighter caught the man red-handed in the middle of an attempt to steal his SUV, which was parked outside his Texas home.

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The would-be thief had been attempting to use a screwdriver to gain access to the vehicle, with Lewis' suspicions aroused by banging noises coming from the driver's side after finishing a workout.

As you might expect, the alleged thief's attempts to steal the car were unsuccessful - and he got a lot more than he would have bargained for when he was apprehended by Lewis.

Houston Police public information officer Jodi Silva told MMA Fighting Lewis had apprehended the thief, hinting at the UFC star's displeasure at the attempted robbery.

“Mr. Lewis says he went over to the suspect, struck him, placed him onto the ground until the police arrived,” Silva said.

“That’s the nicest way to put it.”

Lewis uploaded picture of the alleged thief being taken away by police on Instagram, accompanying it with a short video.

“Mofo pick right/wrong car to break into. HE’S OK," the caption on the post read, with Lewis saying 'Motherf***er tried to break into my s**t' in the video.

The heavyweight striker also posted an image of his knuckles to his Story, which showed some mild bruising on his hand.

Lewis has been enjoying a hot streak in the UFC of late, winning his last four fights to set up a potential rematch against fellow heavyweight Francis Ngannou.

It would be the second fight between the pair if it goes ahead, after their first meeting in 2018 resulted in what commentator Joe Rogan labelled 'by far the worst heavyweight fight I've ever seen'.

Coming after Ngannou's loss to Stipe Miocic, Lewis defeated Ngannou by decision after the fighters spent the best part of three rounds barely throwing a punch.

Former UFC star arrested over identity theft charges

Hours after victory in his Bellator debut on Friday, Anthony Johnson was arrested on outstanding identity theft charges.

The longtime UFC fighter who came out of retirement to join Bellator in 2020 made the most of his debut with a second-round knockout of Jose Augusto at Bellator 258 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

His victory celebration was short-lived. At 11 p.m. local time, police arrested Johnson at the Mohegan Sun on charges of third-degree identity theft and receipt from illegal use of a credit card.

According to a police report, the alleged victim filed a complaint with police in New Canaan, Connecticut, in 2019 that his credit card had been used without his permission to purchase a plane ticket.

From the police report:

“The illegal use of the credit card was used to purchase a round-trip airline ticket from Ft. Lauderdale, FL (FLL) to Newark, NJ (EWR). The name of the passenger was Anthony Johnson," the report read.

"A subsequent Investigation determined Johnson used the illegally obtained credit card to purchase the airline ticket. An arrest warrant was obtained for Johnson for the above charges."

The Daily Voice reports that police identified Johnson at the casino, placed him under arrest and transported him back to New Canaan about 90 miles away. He was released on a $500 bond. MMA Fighting reports that the identity theft charge is a Class D Felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Johnson is scheduled for a June 8 court date.

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