When UFC 297 fighter Polyana Viana​ beat up a man who tried to attack her, Dana White loved it

UFC 297 star Polyana Viana once beat up a man who tried to attack her, leaving him battered and bruised - earning praise from Dana White.

In January 2019, Viana took matters into her own hands when a man attempted to steal her phone.

According to the UFC fighter, the thug asked her for the time while she was waiting for an Uber outside her apartment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He asked Viana for the time, which she obliged before moving her phone.

Viana then compromised the robber with 'punches and a kick' before choking him out after she was threatened with a cardboard gun.

Recalling the incident, she told MMA Junkie: "When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me.

"He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn't going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist.

"And then he said, 'Give me the phone. Don't try to react, because I'm armed'. Then he put his hand over (a gun), but I realised it was too soft.

"He was really close to me. So I thought, 'if it's a gun, he won't have time to draw it'.

"So I stood up. I threw two punches and a kick. He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke. Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, 'Now we'll wait for the police'."

Despite the terrifying ordeal, Viana was 'fine' and revealed the man was scared of another beating from her.

"I was fine," she added. "I was fine because he didn't even react after. Since he took the punches very quickly, I think he was scared.

"So he didn't react anymore. He told me to let him go, like 'I just asked for the time'.

"I said, 'Asked for the time my ass', because he saw I was very angry. I said I wouldn't let go and that I was going to call the police.

"He said, 'Call the police, then' because he was scared I was going to beat him up more."

UFC CEO White loved the UFC strawweight fighter's courageous act.

On X, he posted a picture of Viana and the thug, accompanied with the caption: "On the left is @Polyana_VianaDF, one of our @UFC fighters and on the right is the guy who tried to rob her #badfuckingidea."

Viana, who hasn't fought since last August, takes on Gillian Robertson at UFC 297.