UFC fighter stops gunman with chokehold at Houston restaurant

UFC fighter Kevin Holland stopped a suspected gunman at a Houston sushi restaurant by putting him in a chokehold Monday night.

Holland, 29, told local Houston station KPRC that he was having dinner at RA Sushi when he heard a gunshot fired into the ceiling of the restaurant.

“I thought it was maybe the people behind me popping a champagne bottle because they were having a birthday party,” Holland said. “[I] realized quickly it wasn’t champagne when I turned around, seeing people running and glass breaking.”

Holland then said he saw the suspected gunman point the weapon in his direction as he was fighting with another person at the restaurant. The UFC fighter described circling around the bar area to try to hit the man with a chair but decided to confront him directly when it became hard to tell which one of the men was the gunman. 

“I grab the gun with the guy, we face it down towards the ground, and then I’m like, ‘We’re upstairs – this shouldn’t be facing down,'” Holland told KPRC. “So we point it facing up in the air. So as it’s up in the air, he’s pulling it still, I hit the wrist, the [other] guy pulls the gun free, I pull him back, sit him in my lap, put him in the rear-necked choke, and yeah, we choked him out and my uncle was there to pay attention to the guy’s eyes.”

Holland, whose record is 22-7-0, won his latest fight on March 5 by knockout.

A Houston police spokesman told CNN that they were unable to identify Holland, as it goes against department policy to identify witnesses, but confirmed that the suspected gunman was disarmed and subdued by the time the police arrived at the restaurant. 

The suspect was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon and deadly conduct, according to CNN. The alleged gunman is in jail with a $30,000 bond.