Man enters MMA studio with loaded gun – later loaded, beaten and bloodied, into ambulance

A man is likely re-thinking his life choices after officials allege he walked into a mixed martial arts studio while armed with a gun and left beaten, bloodied and not able to stand or walk on his own, Tuesday evening, Aug. 29.

The violent and bloody “private, one-on-one lesson in self-defense and gun-takeaway tactics” happened shortly before 9 p.m., at Defiant MMA and Fitness studio at 146 W. Cypress Avenue in Burbank.

Based on photographs snapped at the scene by Loudlabs News, the alleged suspect clearly discovered that in spite of bringing a gun to a fist-fight, he was still woefully out-gunned by his intended victim.

Officials later identified the alleged gun-toting suspect as Matthew Lloyd, 30, of Los Angeles. Lloyd was hospitalized with serious facial and other injuries after an instructor at Defiant MMA gave him a personalized lesson on how to disarm and subdue a suspect armed with a handgun.

It was clearly a lesson that Lloyd was not expecting or prepared for.

Jacobe Powell, 34, an instructor at the studio – who officials say was providing a private lesson to at least one student inside the studio when the incident happened – later told police officers he was in the middle of instructing the student when he spotted Lloyd enter the studio while carrying a black bag. As it turned out, Lloyd had a loaded handgun inside his bag.

Burbank Police Sgt. Derek Green later explained that Powell told responding officers that he was instructing his student when he saw a “suspicious person enter the studio.” As Lloyd entered the studio carrying the bag and handgun, Powell said the man walked directly towards him in an “aggressive and confrontational manner” and he “appeared to be armed (with a weapon.)”

Powell said, “At that point, my instincts just kicked in.” Quite literally.

“I used my judo training to go ahead and subdue him (and) got the weapon away from him before the cops arrived,” Powell explained. “One of my guys who was here training called the police and I just subdued (Lloyd) until the police showed up.”

Although the lightweight MMA fighter and instructor did not specify how he “subdued” the armed suspect, Lloyd’s bloody face, swollen-shut eyes and other injuries told the full story.

After officers arrived and detained Lloyd for further investigation, they walked the punch-drunk man out to a curb where he was sat down to wait for an ambulance.

While waiting, Lloyd appeared to repeatedly lose consciousness and he slumped over onto the sidewalk, where he lay bleeding and mumbling incoherently, as he faded in and out of consciousness until an ambulance arrived.

Medics loaded the badly beaten man and transported him to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment.

According to Burbank Police Lieutenant Green, officers investigating the incident located and recovered a loaded handgun – reported to have been Lloyd’s – as well as the black bag he had carried into the studio and other evidence related to the incident.

One official later explained that in spite of Lloyd being armed with a loaded handgun, Powell’s counterattack was so fast and decisive, Lloyd never managed to discharge his weapon.

Although it was not immediately known why Lloyd entered the studio armed with a loaded handgun or what his intentions were, Green said evidence indicated the two men may have already known each other before Tuesday night’s encounter.

Several days after the bizarre incident, Lloyd had not been booked into jail and was still undergoing treatment for extensive injuries he received while being “subdued” by Powell.

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.