Column Stuff You Might Have Heard
Bar brawl turns out to be MMA fight

Tampa police were called to disrupt a fight at Finnegan’s Bar in the city on Friday night, but patrons who called the cops were quickly informed that the brutal brawl they were witnessing was actually a sanctioned MMA bought for a world championship. “The guy in the ref outfit should have tipped me off, I guess,” said one bar customer who called 911. “But, hey, I saw a guy getting elbowed over and over in the eye socket. It looked dangerous and possibly fatal. Now I know it was nothing but entertainment.” Lt. Pete Rogers, who responded to the scene, said police are often called to the scene of MMA fights. “Yeah, we get a few a month,” he said. “And even people who get in actual fights now are smart enough to say they’re fighting in a semi-pro league to try to get away with it. I don’t let them get away with it, of course. Unless they, like, do something cool like bite the other guys ear off or something.”