The New York City subway rider who helped disarm a knifeman accused of murdering four people and wounding several others says watching mixed martial arts fights on TV for 20 years likely saved his life. As slasher Maksim Gelman lunged at Joseph Lozito with a huge knife, Lozito used his leg to sweep his attacker off his feet. "I guess you watch it for 20 years, you just pick up some things through osmosis," Lozito, who suffered stab wounds to his head and hand, tells ABC News.
"With the end result being as it is—that I'm alive—I'm glad he came at me because generally on a subway or in a room I'm one of the bigger people and in relatively good shape and I can probably handle myself a little better," Lozito says. An angry crowd shouted "Rot in hell!" as Gelman, a 23-year-old graffiti artist, was brought to court yesterday, the New York Post reports.
(More New York City subway stories.)