A 19-year-old professional Muay Thai fighter is being recognized as a hero after he intervened in a road rage incident on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, stepping in to protect two young women. The confrontation occurred on the Bruce Highway when a van driver stopped his vehicle and approached a car occupied by the two women, reportedly attempting to open the driver's door.
Dashcam footage captured the moment the van driver left his vehicle and approached the car. Ryan McDonald, the Muay Thai champion, witnessed the interaction and decided to intervene. "It was just two girls on their own in the car," McDonald told Channel Seven. "And I was thinking this would be a good opportunity to help and use what I know to protect these two girls, or de-escalate the situation."
McDonald confronted the man, and the two exchanged words. Both men removed their shirts in the middle of the road, raising the tension of the encounter. However, the situation de-escalated when the van driver realized McDonald was an experienced professional fighter. McDonald, who has eight victories in his fighting career, including four by knockout, stated, "He came back up to me and was like 'Are you sure you want this?' I was like, 'Yeah.'"
The van driver then returned to his vehicle and drove away. McDonald expressed satisfaction that the incident concluded without violence, stating, "It was the best possible outcome, to de-escalate the [situation]... everybody got home safe that day."
Footage of the incident has since gone viral on social media, amassing over three million views and drawing widespread praise for McDonald's actions. Social media users commended him for putting himself in a position to defend individuals he did not know. Comparisons have also been made to the video game character Guile from the Street Fighter series, due to McDonald's appearance, and the upcoming live-action movie adaptation starring WWE superstar Cody Rhodes.