Crime & Safety
MMA Fighter Wrestled 10-Foot Gator Outside FL School: Reports
Mike Dragich, a former Marine and MMA fighter, wrestled and wrangled a 10-foot gator outside a Jacksonville elementary school, reports said.
JACKSONVILLE, FL — A video of a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and MMA fighter wrestling a 10-foot gator in a North Florida elementary school parking lot is being shared widely on social media, according to multiple reports.
Mike Dragich, who is also a licensed Florida alligator trapper, wrangled the gator, which was roaming around outside Northwestern Legends Elementary School in Jacksonville's Moncrief community, the evening of May 21, News4Jax.com reported.
He shared a video of his tussle with the gator on May 22 on his Instagram page under the name "Blue Collar Brawler." It's been shared nearly 33,000 times and has more than 1,000 comments.
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“I love the people in Moncrief,” Dragich said. “I felt like Batman. I was there. These people (were) scared to death of this alligator.”
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There was a screaming crowd of about 200 people watching him go head-to-head with the large reptile and cheering him on, according to Fox 35 Orlando.
"We get there. I walked through the gate. And boom. There it was just ready to go right there in the parking lot, and we just had to get the job done," he told the news outlet.
Dragich first tried dragging the gator by the tail, but it got loose, reports said. He then hooked the reptile around its neck and the wrestling match began.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office also responded to reports of the gator.
Video shows the MMA fighter and members of both agencies eventually used an animal catcher pole to control and remove the gator.
He harvested the gator for its meat, which he plans to give back to the Moncrief community, reports said.
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