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As an MMA fighter, veteran, and licensed alligator trapper, Mike Dragich is quickly rising through the ranks of the most prominent Florida Men to do ‘Florida Man‘ things.
I first wrote about Mike Dragich last June when he was called to an elementary school in Jacksonville, Florida to remove a 10-foot nuisance alligator. His video of that capture and removal went viral with a lot of thirsty Floridians leaving ‘is he single?’ comments on his Instagram.
About a year later, he’s going viral again and this time it is for removing an 8-foot nuisance alligator with his bare hands after the gator sauntered through busy traffic like he owned the road.
Going by the name ‘Blue Collar Brawler’ on Instagram, Dragic shared this video of him hopping on the alligator’s back while barefoot and using his barehands to subdue the gator. He then he tapes the alligator’s mouth before picking it up like a puppy and proudly displaying it to all of the onlookers.
His video was also picked up by local News4Jax for anyone out there who prefers YouTube over Instagram. Mike Dragich joined the news station for this segment where he discusses the removal of nuisance alligators and the tricks of his trade:
Dragich, by the way, is riding a 2-bout win streak in his MMA career.
Looking back a few years, there was that poll claiming 6% of Americans think they could take a 1,700 pound grizzly bear in a fight. A further 8% of Americans believe they could beta a lion, elephant, and gorilla.
Well, count me in whatever percentage of Floridians who believe they could easily take down an alligator if necessary. I’m not talking about fighting off an attacking alligator. But I think I could subdue one and capture it in the wild if I needed to. As a born and raised Floridian, it’s in my blood.
What is a nuisance alligator?
In Florida, we have a pretty clear cut definition of what constitutes a ‘nuiscance alligator’ according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissions (MyFWC). They define it as “an alligator is deemed a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet in length and the caller believes it poses a threat to people, pets or property.”
Though there are instances when a smaller alligator may need to be removed or a larger alligator may be deemed a nuisance without posing an immediate threat. In the case above, that alligator was in the middle of the road! It was a threat to those around and to itself. And in these instances, the nuisance alligator is relocated to a safer location, they are not harvested or put in a zoo.