MMA fighter takes down intruder during South Florida home break-in: “I don’t have guns … just God and my hands”
By Joan Murray
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WILTON MANORS, Florida (WFOR) — A trained MMA fighter said he relied on his skills — and faith — when a stranger broke into his family’s South Florida home last week.
It happened last Saturday, Sept. 27, in Wilton Manors, just north of Fort Lauderdale.
“I’m prepared. It’s not my first time; I don’t feel pain,” said Henny, the mixed martial artist who subdued the intruder.
Henny said his nephew woke him frantically that morning, warning that a man was inside their living room.
“I don’t have guns; I wasn’t looking for a knife — just God and my hands, that’s it,” he said.
The accused intruder, identified as Austin Carasani, appeared before a judge just hours later with visible injuries. Carasani’s face was black and blue from the encounter.
Carasani told Wilton Manors police he had been drinking at a local club and “was attempting to go to his friend Paul’s house who resides in the area.”
Henny’s sister, Patrizia Rojas, and her husband were in Miami when they got a panicked call from their teenage son about the break-in.
“He was screaming, ‘Mom, call police, someone has broken into the house,'” Rojas recalled.
Neighbor Andreas Gomez described what he saw: “The guy was freezing and they started punching him in the face.”
As of Tuesday, Carasani remained in Broward jail on a $20,000 bond. No one answered at his Deerfield Beach address.
Henny said he has no regrets about how he handled the situation.
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