UFC's Polyana Viana Talks Punching, Choking Would-Be Robber in TMZ Interview

UFC fighter Polyana Viana gave her account Thursday of how she shut down an attempted robbery Saturday night.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Viana explained the incident through a translator:

Viana said a man confronted her outside her apartment in Rio de Janeiro and told Viana to hand over her phone after pulling out an object that initially appeared to be a gun.

When Viana saw the object bend, however, she realized it was made of cardboard, which prompted her to attack the would-be robber.

"[I] thought, 'That's not a real gun.' So I got up and threw two hooks," Viana said. "After that, [I] just threw a kick to his face, and that's the damage you all saw in the photos."

Viana then discussed restraining the man until police arrived and arrested him: "He sat where he was, and [I] grabbed him in a rear-naked choke. He tried to hip escape a little bit. [I] was afraid he had a knife or anything that could hurt [me.] So [I] didn't want to lose that position."

The 26-year-old Viana is 10-2 as a professional MMA fighter, including a 1-1 mark in UFC bouts.

Viana defeated Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson by submission at UFC Fight Night 125 in February before losing to JJ Aldrich by unanimous decision at UFC 227 in August.

The 26-year-old also divulged that she has been asked to be a part of the UFC 235 card in March.