A female UFC fighter left a robber bruised and bloodied after he tried to rob her using a cardboard gun. Brazilian star Polyana Viana was waiting for an Uber in Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, when the thief ordered her to hand over her phone, warning that he was armed. But the 26-year-old lashed out, kicking and punching him before putting him in a martial arts chokehold while she waited for police to arrive. UFC president Dana White shared a photo of the man's gruesome facial injuries after his beating. Another shows the 'weapon' was actually just a cardboard cut-out. UFC fighter, Polyana Viana (pictured), left a robber bruised and bloodied after he tried to rob her using a cardboard gun Polyana Viana (left), was waiting for an Uber in Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, when the man ordered her to hand over her phone, warning her he was armed. But the 26-year-old lashed out at the thief, kicking and punching him before putting him in a martial arts chokehold. His injuries are pictured, right Another image shows the 'weapon' carried by the thief was actually a cardboard cut-out Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief did not try to fight back She told MMA Junkie how the man asked her for the time and then saw he was not going to leave. 'So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, "Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed". 'Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realised it was too soft.' 'He was really close to me. So I thought, "If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it". So I stood up I threw two punches and a kick. 'He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, "Now we’ll wait for the police"'. Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief did not try to fight back. Polyana Viana punches JJ Aldrich in the first round of their straw weight bout during UFC 227 at Staples Center in Los Angeles in August Officers later took the man to hospital and Viana (pictured) later learned that he had only just been released over a separate crime Viana asked passers-by to call police and said she remained calm during the incident because the thief (pictured) did not try to fight back The fighter used a chokehold to prevent the thief from fleeing while police were on their way Viana dished out some justice of her own in Rio de Janeiro last Saturday night, despite the man's claim that he was armed at the time. She added: 'Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like "I just asked for the time." I said, "Asked for the time my a**," because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police. 'He said, "Call the police, then" because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.' Officers later took the man to hospital and Viana later learned that he had only just been released over a separate crime. The fighter has had to defend herself in Brazil before when a robber tried to take her phone in her home town of Belem. Describing the incident, she said: 'He tried to take it from my hand, I punched him in the face, and he was scared. This time I was scared. I don’t know if it was because there were two of them. 'So I was scared, but I think he was more scared than I was, so he jumped on the motorcycle and left.'<doc-sep>If you’re going to rob someone, best make sure they’re not a UFC fighter. That’s a lesson some ‘poor’ thug in Rio de Janeiro learned when he accidentally took on strawweight Polyana Viana as she sat outside her apartment building waiting for an Uber. Viana shared the experience with MMA Junkie’s Fernanda Prates, which went down on Saturday night. ”When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me,” Viana recounted. “He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, ‘Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed.’ Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realized it was too soft.” On the left is @Polyana_VianaDF, one of our @UFC fighters and on the right is the guy who tried to rob her #badfuckingidea pic.twitter.com/oHBVpS2TQt — Dana White (@danawhite) January 7, 2019 ”He was really close to me. So I thought, ‘If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it.’ So I stood up. I threw two punches and a kick. He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, ‘Now we’ll wait for the police.’” It turns out the man’s gun was just a cardboard cutout. Once his so-called weapon was revealed, the would be robber basically gave up. “I was fine,” Viana continued. “I was fine because he didn’t even react after. Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like ‘I just asked for the time.’ I said, ‘Asked for the time my ass,’ because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police. He said, ‘Call the police, then’ because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.” TAP CITY: Polyana Viana locks in the rear-naked choke on Maia Stevenson for her sixth straight win and her first UFC win! #UFCBelem https://t.co/ZZj0MOyhxL — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 4, 2018 This isn’t the UFC fighter’s first brush with crime fighting. When she lived in Belem, Viana said she took on two men on a motorcycle who once again were trying to get at her cell phone. Viana is 2-0 against muggers and 10-2 in her MMA career. Currently sitting at 1-1 in the UFC, she kicked her promotional run off with an impressive first round submission win over Maia Stevenson before dropping a decision to JJ Aldrich at UFC 227. Viana is currently without a fight ... so watch out, Rio criminals.<doc-sep>UFC STAR Polyana Viana left a man with horrific facial injuries after he tried to rob her with a CARDBOARD gun. And the cowering thief even begged her to call the cops in fear of another beating after targeting the wrong person. 8 UFC star Polyana Viana beat up a man who tried to rob her in Brazil Credit: Instagram @danawhite 8 UFC star Polyana Viana proved she was the wrong person to pick on Credit: Instagram @polyanaviana The Brazilian was waiting for her Uber in Rio de Janeiro when the misguided criminal demanded she hand over her phone. After claiming he had a gun, Viana punched and kicked the would-be-robber before locking him in a rear-naked choke. Viana, 26, kept the man in a submission while she waited for police to arrive. She told MMA Junkie: "When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me. 8 Polyana Viana kept the robber in her sights while she waited for police to arrive Credit: Polyana Viana 8 The robber used a cardboard cut-out in the shape of a gun to try and intimidate Polyana Viana Credit: Polyana Viana 8 UFC star Polyana Viana has a professional record of 10-2 Credit: Getty - Contributor 8 Polyana Viana beat up the robber and had passers-by call the police Credit: Instagram @polyanaviana "He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, 'Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed.' "Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realised it was too soft." The 'gun' turned out to be a cardboard cut-out. Viana added: "He was really close to me. So I thought, ‘If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it.’ So I stood up I threw two punches and a kick. MOST READ IN SPORT CRYING BRU Fernandes breaks down in tears as Scholes slams Utd stars who 'accept losing' Revealed FLOP GEA De Gea let in 38th CONSECUTIVE penalty before missing own spot-kick in shootout Live Blog MAN UTD 1 (10) VILLARREAL 1 (11) Penalties heartbreak for United as De Gea misses in epic Exclusive THREE-PEAT De Bruyne has been nursing THREE injuries in build-up to Champions League final MAN UTD VERDICT Solskjaer blew chance to end trophy drought & it won't get easier than this Live Blog FOOTBALL NEWS LIVE Zidane QUITS Real Madrid, Antonio Conte leaves Inter Milan "He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, 'Now we’ll wait for the police.'" Viana, who is 1-1 in the UFC but won nine of her ten MMA fights before that, insists she was calm throughout the attack. She said: "I was fine because he didn’t even react after. Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. 8 Polyana Viana was beaten by JJ Aldrich in her last fight Credit: Getty Images - Getty 8 Polyana Viana said she remained calm after the man claimed he had a gun Credit: Getty - Contributor "So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like 'I just asked for the time.' I said, 'Asked for the time my ass,' because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police. "He said, 'Call the police, then' because he was scared I was going to beat him up more." Viana had passers-by call the cops, who took the man to hospital for treatment before hauling him to the police station. She was told the man had been arrested before and was not long released for a previous crime. It is not the first time the UFC fighter has had to fend for herself on the streets of Brazil. In fact, another robber tried to take her phone while she was in her home town of Belem. Viana said: "He broke my umbrella and tried to take my phone. I said I wasn’t going to give it to him. "He tried to take it from my hand, I punched him in the face, and he was scared. This time I was scared. I don’t know if it was because there were two of them. "So I was scared, but I think he was more scared than I was, so he jumped on the motorcycle and left."<doc-sep>Polyana Viana weighs 115 pounds. She’s also a UFC fighter with a 10-2 MMA record, with many of her wins coming via painful submissions. A would-be mugger in Rio de Janeiro clearly wasn’t aware of the latter when he thought a woman of Viana’s stature made a proper target for robbery. Robber’s cardboard gun doesn’t help his cause Viana told MMA Junkie that a man with a cardboard cutout shaped like a gun attempted to steal her phone on a Rio street Saturday night. According to Viana, the man’s decision resulted in a police escort to the emergency room. She told MMA Junkie that he initially asked for the time before declaring that he had a gun and demanding her cell phone. “He was really close to me,” Viana said. “So I thought, ‘If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it.’ So I stood up. I threw two punches and a kick. He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, ‘Now we’ll wait for the police. '” According to Sherdog, the rear-naked choke is a popular finishing move for Viana, resulting in a pair of her professional submission victories. Polyana Viana used a favorite finishing move of hers on an attacker in the Rio streets Saturday. (Getty) Viana: Attacker asked her to call police Viana shared images of her bloodied and battered would-be assailant and his fake gun with MMA Junkie. She said by the time she was done with him, he was asking for the police. According to Dana White, this is what happened when a guy tried to rob Polyana Viana pic.twitter.com/bINTbYgi0n — Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 7, 2019 “I was fine because he didn’t even react after,” Viana said. “Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared. So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like ‘I just asked for the time.’ I said, ‘Asked for the time my ass,’ because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police. Story continues “He said, ‘Call the police, then’ because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.” An attacker thought Polyana Viana made a good target for robbery. He was wrong. (Getty) More from Yahoo Sports: • Robinson: Keeping Jason Garrett paid off for Jerry Jones • Warriors-Kings combine to set history for most 3-pointers in NBA game • 19-year-old Cal DB dies after collapsing during workout • Deshaun Watson’s streak ends in loss to Colts<doc-sep>
UFC star Polyana Viana left a man with horrific facial injuries after he tried to rob her with a cardboard gun. The cowering thief even begged her to call the cops in fear of another beating after targeting the wrong person. Viana was waiting for her Uber in Rio de Janeiro when the misguided criminal demanded she hand over her phone. After the would-be robber claimed he had a gun, Viana said she punched and kicked him before locking him in a rear-naked choke. Viana, 26, kept the man in submission while she waited for police to arrive. “When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me,” she told MMA Junkie. “He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So I already moved to put my cellphone in my waist. And then he said, ‘Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed.’ “Then he put his hand over [a gun], but I realized it was too soft.” The “gun” turned out to be a cardboard cut-out. “He was really close to me. So I thought, ‘If it’s a gun, he won’t have time to draw it.’ So I stood up, I threw two punches and a kick,” Viana said. “He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, ‘Now we’ll wait for the police. '” Viana, who is 1-1 in the UFC but won nine of her 10 MMA fights before that, insists she was calm throughout the attack. “I was fine because he didn’t even react after. Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared,” she said. “So he didn’t react anymore. He told me to let him go, like, ‘I just asked for the time.’ I said, ‘Asked for the time my ass,’ because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn’t let go and that I was going to call the police. “He said, ‘Call the police, then’ because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.” Viana had passers-by call the cops, who took the man to the hospital for treatment before hauling him to the police station. She was told the man had been arrested before and recently released for a previous crime. It is not the first time the UFC fighter has had to fend for herself on the streets of Brazil. In fact, another robber tried to take her phone while she was in her hometown of Belem. “He broke my umbrella and tried to take my phone. I said I wasn’t going to give it to him,” Viana said. “He tried to take it from my hand, I punched him in the face, and he was scared. This time I was scared. I don’t know if it was because there were two of them. So I was scared, but I think he was more scared than I was, so he jumped on the motorcycle and left.”