A man attempting to rob a Los Angeles motel at gunpoint was tackled and restrained by two mixed martial artists who had just checked in.
The Oregon-based fighters, Brent Alvarez, 33, and Billy Denney, 28, spent several minutes tussling with the suspect after they encountered him in the motel's foyer, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Moments earlier, the suspect, Luis Rosales, had burst into the motel clerk's office and forced him to fill a bag with cash.
The martial artists managed to get Rosales, 31, in a body lock and chokehold, and the clerk called the police. Rosales was arrested at the scene.
Alvarez, owner of a mixed martial arts studio, and Denney, a student of Alvarez's, were exiting an elevator late Sunday night when they encountered the situation, the newspaper reported.
According to the Times, Alvarez and Denney heard the clerk shout, "Gun! He robbed me!" Alvarez said he briefly saw a weapon.
Alvarez told the newspaper he did not sense Rosales wanted to harm anyone. The man asked Alvarez and Denney to release him so he could kiss his daughter, the Times reported.
"He wasn't trying to punch us; he just seemed like someone who had run out of options," Alvarez told the newspaper. "I think back now and wonder what the hell was I doing? I should of hit him and knocked him out."
Police commended Alvarez and Billy Denney for stepping in.
The men are competing Saturday in the World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship.
"I might have more butterflies than usual because I already had my fight for this week," Alvarez told the newspaper.
