MMA Fighter Makes Daring Decision After Alligator Appears Near School Grounds
A school call took a wild turn when a former MMA fighter turned gator wrangler went entirely barefoot to capture an aggressive reptile with his bare hands.
Florida has about 1.3 million alligators across all 67 counties, according to the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). When one of those poses a threat, the FWC sends out a licensed trapper through its special nuisance hotline.
This week, one of those calls came from a Jacksonville-area elementary school, where a juvenile alligator got trapped near the building's HVAC units. The trapper who answered the call was former MMA fighter Mike Dragich. The way he handled the reptile is right now making the rounds on social media.
Mike Dragich Handles Juvenile Alligator by Hand at Jacksonville-Area Elementary School
Dragich, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and amateur MMA fighter, recently posted a video of the wild moment on his "bluecollar_brawler" Instagram handle.
In the clip, he could be seen struggling a bit at first because the alligator was very aggressive for its small size. But he managed to grab the alligator with his bare hands. After safely securing its mouth with black tape, he carried the reptile over his shoulder down the school hallway.
Dragich noted that the alligator had been spotted at the school the day before, adding that he "had to go save the kids". Before saving people from rogue reptiles, he built an athletic background competing in the cage.
He fought in four amateur MMA matches in Florida between 2021 and 2023, finishing with a 2-2 record. He suffered two losses in late 2021 but bounced back to win his next two fights in 2022 and 2023, including a dominant first-round TKO victory. His solid physique in the video showed he still has that fighter strength.
He regularly shares these risky reptile captures on his page, where he currently has nearly 500,000 followers. In fact, his video catching the juvenile alligator at the elementary school has already racked up over 92,000 likes in just two days.
This was not his first time answering a call at a school, either. In June 2023, he went viral for capturing a massive 10-foot alligator outside another Jacksonville elementary school. In 2024, he had to leave a hockey game with his family because police needed his help with an 8-foot alligator roaming a city street.
However, the young alligator he caught near the outdoor AC units was under 6 feet long. His catching style might surprise many because he went entirely barefoot and didn't use any professional wrangler equipment.
