UFC star hits back after giving a robber the beating of his life

UFC star Polyana Viana has hit back at rumours she is wanted by Brazilian police only days after showing a would-be thief why it's a bad idea to try and rob a professional fighter.

The 26-year-old strawweight gave her assailant the beating of his life after he tried to rob her outside her Rio de Janeiro apartment over the weekend.

The man, who was armed with a cardboard gun, was left with horrific facial injuries, and even begged Viana to call the cops in fear of another beating, The Sun reported.

Reports in Brazil have since suggested that a prosecutor had ordered Viana's arrest but the popular South American took to Instagram to deny the claims.

She wrote: "I just finished training, my sparring for today. Many people ask me about the 'bad' news that was published on a website.

"It says I received an arrest warrant. I didn't receive anything. The case is, I reacted to the assault … I acted and defended myself within the law.

"I haven't received anything, a warrant. I'm very focused, and later I hope to give you good news about my next fight. OK?"

Viana was waiting for an uber when the man threatened her. Claiming he had a gun, Viana punched and kicked the would-be-robber before locking him in a rear-naked choke.

"When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me," Viana told MMAJunkie. "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.

"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.

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• Man tries to rob a UFC fighter and regrets it immediately

"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.'"

UFC president Dana White shared a photo of the man who tried to steal Viana's phone on social media, calling it a "bad f***ing idea" .

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is reproduced here with permission.