UFC Fighter Chooses Gun Over Fists for Defense

by
posted on September 6, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
armed-citizen-logo.jpg (1)

Proponents for peaceful defense or hand-to-hand combat often state that if you’re fast enough or trained well-enough you can simply diffuse a situation with a sharp verbal command and the threat of physical harm.

Former UFC Fighter Dean Lister, a man with a professional 13-7 MMA record, would likely argue otherwise. On Aug. 22, Lister arrived at his home in San Diego about 8 p.m. when he discovered a bald and tattooed man inside his kitchen.

Lister recorded the next seconds with a camera. The clip shows that when Lister asked the stranger what he was doing, the intruder insisted the house was a church. When  Lister asked the man to leave, the trespasser picked up a hammer and made a threatening move with it. Lister told the local news affiliate, “Off digital camera, I drew a sidearm and he stopped advancing toward me. I let him escape together with his life by a window.”

The burglar stole money from the home.

As Bearing Arms noted, Lister had the opportunity to fight bare-knuckled. Instead, he opted to use his personal firearm to warn the other man off, instead of potentially endangering himself to further harm physically by engaging someone he may or may not have been able to fight against.

Latest

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith

The Greatest Second Amendment Victory in a Century

On July 4, 2025, Americans celebrated not only our nation’s independence, but also the restoration of our constitutional Second Amendment rights becoming unconstrained by burdensome and arbitrary fees.

Opening Salvo | More Evidence That Gun-Control Groups are Freaking Out

With the Trump administration’s law-and-order push showing America’s crime problem is clearly not the fault of lawfully armed citizens, gun-control groups are freaking out.

John Rich has a Song for Armed Citizens

John Rich's latest song is "The Righteous Hunter." It is a moving tune about standing up to stop those with evil intentions. It is a song for lawfully armed citizens.

This Department of Education Grant Could Change Things

The University of Wyoming’s Firearms Research Center has been awarded a nearly $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education to develop a nationwide program on the origins, meaning and implications of the Second Amendment.

From the Editor | Charlie Kirk Lived for Freedom

“Give me liberty, or give me death,” are the immortal words of Patrick Henry spoken on March 23, 1775, to the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, Va. His impassioned words were a call to arms against British tyranny.  

Ninth Circuit to Revisit Background Checks on Ammo Case

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted rehearing en banc in Rhode v. Bonta—a case backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle and Pistol Association. 

Interests



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.