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Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Barefoot man seen wrestling large alligator on interstate, Florida video shows
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.
Miami Herald
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Barefoot man takes on rowdy alligator with just a trash can, Florida video shows
Florida's 'Bluecollar Brawler' is a professional trapper known for his highly theatrical clashes with alligators, and he took things up a notch the night before Easter by using a trash can as his only weapon. As is often the case, Mike Dragich was also barefoot at the time. 'Late last night, a woman was letting her dog out and noticed a long tail slide by her patio,' Dragich wrote in an April 20 Instagram post. 'I responded from an Easter dinner with family and improvised using a trash can to remove the alligator from the property. Thankfully, no animals or people were injured!' Video shows Dragich pinned the alligator between the trash can and a fence, then scooped it up. The bin also made for convenient removal, with Dragich rolling it down the driveway with the gator inside. It happened in Jacksonville, and the alligator was estimated at 7 to 8 feet, WOFL reported. It got into the woman's backyard by climbing the fence, according to the station. Dragich is a licensed trapper and made headlines in April 2024 for wrestling an 8-foot alligator in traffic, and he was again barefoot. Video shows Dragich fell atop the gator to bring it under control, then carried it out of traffic like a misbehaving toddler. 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.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Watch: Florida barefoot gator wrangler stops Easter dinner to ward off unwanted guest
The Brief Florida barefoot alligator wrangler Mike Dragich, aka "The Blue Collar Brawler," struck again after he recently helped a Jacksonville woman who spotted a large alligator in her yard. Dragich said he responded to the call without his equipment, because he came directly from an Easter dinner. Thankfully, Dragich was able to safely trap the angry gator in a trash can and remove it away from the neighborhood homes. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Florida barefoot alligator wrangler Mike Dragich, aka "The Blue Collar Brawler," struck again after he put a pause on his Easter dinner to help a Jacksonville woman who spotted a large alligator in her yard. Thankfully, Dragich said he was able to safely remove the gator away from the neighborhood homes, even without his equipment. The backstory Dragich was at Easter dinner when he received an emergency call from a woman in a new development on the north side of Jacksonville, who said she saw a 7-to-8-foot gator sliding by her patio as she was letting her dog out. Dragich responded to the woman's call for help, even though he didn't have any of his proper equipment with him because he had been at dinner. Dragich said he believes the gator must have climbed the fence to get into the yard, because there was no other opening. What we know The gator wrangler's work was captured on video by the Jacksonville woman. In the video, Dragich can be seen assessing the gator, who was hiding behind trash cans on the property. "Stay back," he says. "His head is long," the woman says. Dragich touches the trash can to move it slightly, and the gator instantly writhes and snaps its mouth open, beginning to make hissing noises. "He is not happy," Dragich says. "His mouth is perched wide open," the woman says. Dragich is then able to move the trash can away from the gator, before grabbing a larger trash can and positioning it down on the grass on its side with the lid wide open and facing the gator. "Boys and girls, the action is about to happen," the woman says. Dragich is able to then slowly maneuver the gator into the trash can, backing him up against the yard's fence. Once the gator is inside the trash can, Dragich lifts the trash can up and slams the lid shut on top. "Yeah, baby!" Dragich says, laughing. "We got him!" "He did it," the woman says gleefully in the video. Dragich is able to safely remove the reptile off the property and away from the neighborhood homes. He and the woman then share a high five after the success. The backstory Dragich is well-known in Florida for his gator wrangling skills, garnering more than 33,000 followers on Instagram alone. He is also the founder of Project Savior Outdoors, which aims to help veterans and first responders "forge community, ignite purpose and defy darkness through the outdoors." Dragich served as a U.S. Marine and lives in Florida with his wife and four children. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by Florida gator wrangler Mike Dragich.
