Malaysian security guard says ‘hit me’, counts cost of viral knockout

Security guard Muhammad Alim Muhamad Adnizam says he is thankful not to lose his job after challenging MMA coach Tony Lim to a fight

A security guard in a block of flats in Malaysia thought he had the upper hand when he challenged a resident smaller than him, not realising the man he had picked on was a mixed martial arts (MMA) coach.

Not only did Muhammad Alim Muhamad Adnizam, 24, end up having to get stitches, he had to watch his embarrassing knockout go viral. In addition, he was reassigned to another building and counted himself lucky he did not lose his job, the New Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

In the video of the street brawl on July 10, Alim can be seen aggressively provoking another man, later identified as 22-year-old amateur MMA fighter Tony Lim, to a fight. “Are you a boy or a girl? Hit me if you’re a man,” he taunts Lim, even striking his own head at one point and calling Lim a pondan (transvestite).

While Lim appears calm at first, Alim then starts taking off his watch and clothes – an indication that he is ready to fight. As punches are thrown, Lim acts quickly and subdues Alim in a chokehold but is told by another security guard to let Alim go.

Alim picks himself up and challenges Lim to continue fighting but is knocked out in one punch, which sends him reeling against a metal pole.

Lim told The Rakyat Post news portal on Thursday that the ill feelings started about two weeks before the fight, when he intervened to help an elderly resident who was being attacked by Alim.

Spotting Lim filming him, Alim “threatened me, wanting me to delete this video”, he said. The guard continued harassing him multiple times over the fortnight until “last Thursday night, when I went to the neighbouring mall to buy things” and Alim spotted him and challenged him to fight. “Then this … conflict happened.”

Alim, who received four stitches to his lips after the fight, claimed he was merely doing his job. “I’m not a fighter. I don’t even know silat. It happened suddenly and I just reacted,” he told the New Straits Times.

Both men called a truce after lodging separate reports at a police station. “We shook hands, admitted fault, and agreed not to share the video. I thought it was over,” he said.

“But a few days later, I found out the video had gone viral. My relatives started calling, asking what happened. I was embarrassed, especially since I live with my family in a flat with many neighbours.”

Dubbed the “Touch me bro” security guard by social media users, he was reassigned from the building in Seri Kembangan to another residential area in Puchong. Both are in Selangor state.

“At first, I felt lost. But I’m thankful I wasn’t fired. I still need to work to support my family,” he said.

He told Harian Metro newspaper that the takeaway from this was to “control your emotions because when things like this happen, you are ashamed of yourself”.

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“I also want to apologise to everyone and my family for what happened.”

Lim, an MMA coach from Kuala Lumpur who is ranked 15th in the Southeast Asia Men’s Featherweight category, was puzzled by the reaction to the fight video. “I don’t know why this video suddenly went viral,” he admitted to The Rakyat Post.

The Malaysian Chinese man wanted to stress that the fight had no racial undertones. “This matter is actually unrelated to race. So I think there’s no need to bring this into racial discussions.”

Serdang district police chief Muhamad Farid Ahmad confirmed last Wednesday that the incident had been resolved. “Both men lodged police reports on July 10 and decided they were willing to make peace with one another, so we closed that case,” he said, according to the New Straits Times.