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A hell of a story.
UFC middleweight Nick Ring (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) doesn't consider himself any type of vigilante, but he refuses to sit idly by and watch innocent people fall prey to thuggery.
And so it was on Wednesday night, when "The Promise" happened upon a pair of victims being beaten by an assailing group of 10 youngsters who Ring asserts "probably thought they were way tougher than they really are."
While Ring is busy preparing for a UFC 149 rematch with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Court McGee, for him the choice to get involved was a no-brainer.
"I was leaving Starbucks last night in Calgary, and I see a big group of, uh, I don't know what you want to call them – wannabe gangster guys – beating up a couple," Ring told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "It was a boyfriend-girlfriend. They were beating them up and robbing them, basically. It was 10 against two. It didn't look right. I pulled the car over and everything to see one of them kneeing a girl in the face. I'm not even joking. It was so hardcore, I can't even tell you.
"I get out of the car, and I yell, 'What's going here?' The girl takes off, rips this other girl's backpack away from her, and the whole group of them, the 10 of them, they run down the street. I went to check on the two, and they got their faces cut open, and they're bleeding everywhere. It was me and another stranger who just arrived on the scene."
Once Ring established that the victims weren't facing life-threatening injuries, he made a split-second decision, but one he said really didn't require much thought. Ring and the stranger took off after the assailants.
"We just looked at each other, and we said to each other, 'Let's go get them,'" Ring said. "We ran after them. We tackled one of them, and we called the police. The police came, and I got into another little foot chase with them as I was on the phone with the police."
Ring, who said the assailants appeared to be in their late teens, said the group stayed close by while waiting to learn the fate of the one member of the group who was tackled. That allowed Ring to direct police in their direction, as well as aid in a secondary chase. Seven of the 10 attackers were eventually nabbed.
"They need to be straightened out," Ring said. "This is not behavior that can be condoned. And you know what? Turning a blind eye to it, and this goes for everyone in society, don't turn a blind eye to it. If you see something wrong, you go out there, and you straighten it out. The cops are there to help out, as well, but you've got to call them."
Of course, Ring is a highly trained professional and knows that not everyone should take such a hands-on approach. Personal safety is paramount, but that doesn't mean potential witnesses can't at least make sure authorities are alerted.
For his part, Ring knew there was some risk in his choice, but he elected to involve himself at the highest level.
"It definitely did cross my mind that they might have weapons," Ring said. "But at the same time, I wasn't thinking about that. They had to be stopped. If they had weapons, I would have just stayed on the phone and kept enough distance to where I would have been safe.
"There was this poor guy, and he was trying to protect his girlfriend, and he's getting beat up by the dudes in the group. The girl from the antagonist side, she's beating up on the girlfriend, and she had the guy by the hair, kneeing her right in the face. I just felt so bad for the guy. He was helpless. He's watching his girlfriend get beat up, and he's getting beat up, himself. I wasn't going to stand around and watch that happen."
Ring said he has yet to learn the identities of the victims but hopes to check on them in the very near future. Officials confirmed with The Calgary Sun the two were not facing life-threatening injuries.
As for the assailants, Ring said they did not appear to recognize him as a UFC fighter. In fact, Ring said he even had to laugh a little when one of the attackers, who at the time was being restrained by the police, challenged him to a one-on-one confrontation.
"After they got nabbed by the cops, I went up to the group as they were getting arrested," Ring said. "'Yeah, these are the guys. Thanks, guys.' I started pointing them out to the cops.
"One of the guys said, '[Expletive] you,' to me. Then he said, 'Yeah, man. Me and you, one on one.' He said that to my face. I just told him, 'Anytime, you little bitch.'"
Ring was quick to point out he wasn't the only one involved in the apprehension process and praised those around him who also assisted. In the meantime, the Canadian fighter has vowed to assist police with anything they need in terms of witness testimony in order to fully prosecute the attackers.
"I'm very happy with the people that were on the scene," Ring said. "There were a lot of compassionate people. When they realized what was going on, all it took was that little push like, 'Yeah, let's go get them.' I had plenty of help from that point on.
"I'm glad they got arrested, and I hope they actually get some punishment for it."
And so it was on Wednesday night, when "The Promise" happened upon a pair of victims being beaten by an assailing group of 10 youngsters who Ring asserts "probably thought they were way tougher than they really are."
While Ring is busy preparing for a UFC 149 rematch with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Court McGee, for him the choice to get involved was a no-brainer.
"I was leaving Starbucks last night in Calgary, and I see a big group of, uh, I don't know what you want to call them – wannabe gangster guys – beating up a couple," Ring told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "It was a boyfriend-girlfriend. They were beating them up and robbing them, basically. It was 10 against two. It didn't look right. I pulled the car over and everything to see one of them kneeing a girl in the face. I'm not even joking. It was so hardcore, I can't even tell you.
"I get out of the car, and I yell, 'What's going here?' The girl takes off, rips this other girl's backpack away from her, and the whole group of them, the 10 of them, they run down the street. I went to check on the two, and they got their faces cut open, and they're bleeding everywhere. It was me and another stranger who just arrived on the scene."
Once Ring established that the victims weren't facing life-threatening injuries, he made a split-second decision, but one he said really didn't require much thought. Ring and the stranger took off after the assailants.
"We just looked at each other, and we said to each other, 'Let's go get them,'" Ring said. "We ran after them. We tackled one of them, and we called the police. The police came, and I got into another little foot chase with them as I was on the phone with the police."
Ring, who said the assailants appeared to be in their late teens, said the group stayed close by while waiting to learn the fate of the one member of the group who was tackled. That allowed Ring to direct police in their direction, as well as aid in a secondary chase. Seven of the 10 attackers were eventually nabbed.
"They need to be straightened out," Ring said. "This is not behavior that can be condoned. And you know what? Turning a blind eye to it, and this goes for everyone in society, don't turn a blind eye to it. If you see something wrong, you go out there, and you straighten it out. The cops are there to help out, as well, but you've got to call them."
Of course, Ring is a highly trained professional and knows that not everyone should take such a hands-on approach. Personal safety is paramount, but that doesn't mean potential witnesses can't at least make sure authorities are alerted.
For his part, Ring knew there was some risk in his choice, but he elected to involve himself at the highest level.
"It definitely did cross my mind that they might have weapons," Ring said. "But at the same time, I wasn't thinking about that. They had to be stopped. If they had weapons, I would have just stayed on the phone and kept enough distance to where I would have been safe.
"There was this poor guy, and he was trying to protect his girlfriend, and he's getting beat up by the dudes in the group. The girl from the antagonist side, she's beating up on the girlfriend, and she had the guy by the hair, kneeing her right in the face. I just felt so bad for the guy. He was helpless. He's watching his girlfriend get beat up, and he's getting beat up, himself. I wasn't going to stand around and watch that happen."
Ring said he has yet to learn the identities of the victims but hopes to check on them in the very near future. Officials confirmed with The Calgary Sun the two were not facing life-threatening injuries.
As for the assailants, Ring said they did not appear to recognize him as a UFC fighter. In fact, Ring said he even had to laugh a little when one of the attackers, who at the time was being restrained by the police, challenged him to a one-on-one confrontation.
"After they got nabbed by the cops, I went up to the group as they were getting arrested," Ring said. "'Yeah, these are the guys. Thanks, guys.' I started pointing them out to the cops.
"One of the guys said, '[Expletive] you,' to me. Then he said, 'Yeah, man. Me and you, one on one.' He said that to my face. I just told him, 'Anytime, you little bitch.'"
Ring was quick to point out he wasn't the only one involved in the apprehension process and praised those around him who also assisted. In the meantime, the Canadian fighter has vowed to assist police with anything they need in terms of witness testimony in order to fully prosecute the attackers.
"I'm very happy with the people that were on the scene," Ring said. "There were a lot of compassionate people. When they realized what was going on, all it took was that little push like, 'Yeah, let's go get them.' I had plenty of help from that point on.
"I'm glad they got arrested, and I hope they actually get some punishment for it."
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