Florida MMA Fighter Catches 6-Foot Alligator Using A Trash Can

Floridian Mike Dragich is a veteran, MMA fighter, and a licensed alligator trapper who recently captured a 6-foot gator using some ingenuity. The MMA fighter caught the decent-sized alligator using nothing but his bare hands and a plastic garbage can.

The garbage can appears to be the same (if not similar) as the one issued to me by my county here in Florida and while they are made of sturdy plastic I still wouldn’t want to be trapping an alligator in one at night with no other tools in hand.

But this is Mike Dragich we are talking about aka the ‘Blue Collar Brawler.’ He’s one of the best licensed alligator trappers in the state of Florida. The MMA fighter has been featured here on BroBible catching an 8-foot alligator with his bare hands. A year ago this week, he caught a 10-foot alligator at an elementary school so it could be safely relocated away from the children. He is legit and his latest video is furtherp roof of that:

That guttural growl from the alligator early on in the video when Dragich is maneuvering the trash can into place would send a chill down anyone’s spine. The bellowing sound from alligators is unlike anything else you will hear in nature and it’s so chilling that it worth checking out this minute-long video from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm on the sound alone:

The Jacksonville-based MMA fighter and alligator cathcher holds a 2-2-0 record in the ring. His last (recorded) MMA fight came in September 2023, where he secured a bare knuckle boxing win over Billy Graves. Prior to that, he notched a KO over fellow MMA fighter Jaguar West in December 2022.

But as far as I can tell this veteran U.S. Marine hasn’t had any official MMA bouts in since September 2023 because he has been too busy catching alligators across Florida like this one on a highway which went bonkers during the capture:

Impressive work! Also, it should be mentioned that these alligators are only being relocated once they are classified as a ‘nuisance alligator’ under the state’s guidelines.

Here in Florida, in order for a gator to be classified as a ‘nuisance alligator’ through the SNAP program the gator must be 4+ feet in length and pose a threat to people, pets, or property. Only then will a state-licensed alligator trapper like MMA fighter Mike Dragich be called in to catch and relocate the creature.