St. Patrick’s day is a day that often causes a big influx of people in the emergency rooms. This past holiday was no different. A University of South Florida engineering student got into a fight with 3 men. One punched him. As luck would have it the victim fell and hit his head on the pavement outside a Liquor store and lies in the hospital with life threatening injuries.
The man who directed the life threatening blow is bjj practitioner Zac Allen.
Allen taught bjj in Largo, Florida at Supremacy BJJ.
However it appears his bio has been since removed from the instructor’s list.
According to the police:
On Saturday, March 18, 2017, at 2:10 a.m., at the northwest corner of Central Avenue and 2nd Street, in front of Detroit Liquors, an altercation occurred where a man punched another man in the face. The man that was punched in the face immediately fell backward, striking his head on the pavement. He incurred very serious head injuries and is in critical condition at a local hospital. There were two other men with the man who threw the punch.
Many reports inaccurately say Allen is a mixed martial arts fighter based on his Fight To Win posters. According to Tampa Bay.com:
Allen is a mixed martial arts fighter, police say. He was featured in Facebook ads last fall for an event called “Fight to Win” that took place at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
However they’re not entirely mistaken – Allen did try his luck out in MMA back in 2013 when he last fought for the final mma record of 2-2-0.
According to reports of Fox 13 news:
Police now believe the victim – 26-year-old Brian Neal – was trying to stop the suspect – Zachary Kenneth Allen -from verbally harassing a woman nearby. But police say Allen decided to punch Neal instead.
His instructor was interviewed subsequently by wfla.com:
“I could not see Zack ever doing something like this. He’s been training with me since he’s 15. He’s a family guy,” said Rodrigo Greeno.
“I’m shocked that this situation happened” said Greeno, who said the form of martial arts he teaches does not involve punches. “We teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is take-downs,” he said.
Neal exchanged words with Allen over being inappropriate.
“He was cat calling and whistling to females in the general area. The victim made a comment to him,” said Major Shannon Halstead, with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Allen had no comment for FOX 13 cameras as he was placed into a SPPD squad car Thursday afternoon. He is being on a $10,000 bond and will appear in court Friday. The other two men seen with Allen in surveillance video have not been charged.
