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(Warning: NSFW language used above.)

Australian surfer Mick Fanning is counting his blessings after escaping unharmed from a shark attack at the World Surf League’s J-Bay Open in South Africa.

During the middle of Sunday's finals against fellow Australian Julian Wilson, the defending champion was attacked by a shark.

"I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking trying to get it away," Fanning said in the video.

Despite the scare, the three-time world champion wasn't going down without a fight.

"I just saw fins. I was waiting for the teeth to come at me. ...I punched it in the back," he said.

The competition was eventually suspended for the day, per the World Surf League.

[YouTube, Sky News]

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