FILE PHOTO: UFC fight promoter Dana White speaks on behalf of his friend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, during the second session of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar
(Reuters) – UFC president Dana White plans to fly a former Best Buy employee who thwarted an alleged shoplifting attempt in Hawaii to an upcoming UFC fight in Las Vegas and may even hire the woman, he said on Twitter on Friday.
Security footage that went viral showed Summer Tapasa-Sataraka, 24, battling a man trying to leave the store in Aiea with a speaker, using her forearms to block the exit and wrestling the man to the ground before he left empty handed.
“This is Summer. She stopped this punk from getting away with stealing from Best Buy in Hawaii.
“She got fired for this. Flying her in this weekend and giving her tickets to the McGregor vs Cowboy fight,” White said, referring to the Jan. 18 bout between Irishman Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
“I want her to work for me! Get ready for the best weekend of your life, Summer.”
In a Facebook post last month, Tapasa-Sataraka said she had seen the man steal from the store before and noticed him trying to walk away with the same item again.
“I just kept thinking … not today!!” she wrote about the confrontation, which has been viewed millions of times online.
She added that she had already informed Best Buy of her plans to leave the company before the incident and harbored no ill will toward the electronics retailer.
On Friday, Tapasa-Sataraka reposted White’s offer on her Facebook page and suggested she was thrilled.
Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Clarence Fernandez