Speaking exclusively to BloodyElbow.com, world champion grappler Lloyd Irvin said his home in Accokeek, Maryland was invaded by two armed gunman on Saturday morning at approximately 4:30am.
According to Irvin, the two gunman held Irvin, his son, wife and UFC light heavyweight contender Brandon Vera at gun point while demanding to be directed towards valuables like cash or jewelry.
While one gunman held Irvin's family hostage, another gunman directed Irvin to the the master bedroom. According to Irvin, he led the gunman toward his bedroom. Once in the bedroom, Irvin said he noticed the other gunman was far enough away down the hall to make a move to disarm the attacker in his bedroom. Irvin, an expert in Sambo defensive gun and knife techniques, was able to get ahold of the gun in the attacker's hands, first separating the clip from the gun and then removing the gun from the attacker's hands.
At that point, the attacker in Irvin's room ran yelling to his accomplice that Irvin had his gun and both gunman fled the house. It's not clear what, if anything, they were able to take with them. Police were called to the scene and have launched an investigation.
According to Irvin, no one in his family was physically hurt, although the psychological trauma at this point is considerable.
While Vera is physically unharmed, leaving for England this Tuesday and will continue training, it is not clear to what extent the psychological trauma from this event will have as he heads into his fight with Keith Jardine at UFC 89 on October 18th. Irvin indicated that to the extent possible, training would continue as normal.
On behalf of everyone at BloodyElbow.com, we are glad to hear no one was harmed in the attack and wish both the Irvin family and Vera the best during this very difficult time.
PERSONAL NOTE: For anyone who has ever doubted Irvin's weapons techniques that he learned in Sambo, they literally saved his life and the life of his family/Vera. There can be no more doubting them.
