Barefoot man seen wrestling large alligator on interstate, Florida video shows

Miami Herald

30-04-2025

A barefooted man was seen wrestling an alligator on Interstate 95 in North Florida, and the resulting video has been watched more than 9 million times on social media.
While the bout could easily have been mistaken for a stunt, it was 100% real, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office wrote in an April 28 Facebook post.
The alligator had slipped through 70-mph traffic to end up in the median and someone had to get it out, officials said. That someone was mixed martial arts fighter Mike 'Blue Collar Brawler' Dragich, who is also a licensed trapper.
'If you were cruising down I-95/I-295 on the southside yesterday and thought you saw a barefoot man wrestling a giant alligator in the median — nope, your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. That really happened,' the sheriff's office wrote.
'Your (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office) joined forces with .... local gator-wrangling legend, the Blue Collar Brawler, to wrangle this beast off the road and keep everyone safe. Just another totally normal day in the Sunshine State.'
Video shows the alligator was lunging with its jaws open when Dragich trapped it with a catch pole and dragged it out of the grass.
He then hopped on its back like a bronco rider, ignoring the passing traffic that roared just feet away.
The alligator left the scene in the back of a pickup, with its jaws taped shut.
The video had racked up more than 100,000 comments and reactions as of April 30, many noting his lack of shoes and that matching camouflage outfit.
'Like some kind of Reptilian Wrestling Super Hero! He just needs a cool name!' Lisa Hawkins Penzenstadler wrote on the sheriff's office Facebook page.
'In Florida when you see an old boy walk up in camo with no shoes, you know everything gonna be alright,' Dustin Nunn posted.
'Was he wearing that outfit when they called him or did he change into he 'gator wrasslin' super hero uniform when he got the call?' Noah Jones asked.
'The first time in history that I would not be mad at a traffic jam if it was because they were watching this happen,' Lindsey Jones wrote.
Dragich is a middleweight mixed martial arts fighter who was last in the ring in 2023, according to Tapology. His amateur MMA record is 2-2-0. He also leads a nonprofit called Project Savior Outdoors, which uses outdoor adventures to help veterans deal with post traumatic stress disorder.