If you guessed: “A lot of kicking,” from the above headline, you’d be right. A pair of accused robbers picked the wrong gas station clerk to mess with in Houston — unless they somehow decided to tussle with a semi-professional mixed martial arts fighter on purpose.

The store clerk was behind the counter when he saw his coworker returning after a trip to the bank, reports Click2Houston.com. Two men reportedly jumped out of a car and went after the worker carrying a bag of money from the bank.

That’s when he ran outside and started kicking people.

“The first guy I saw, I just kicked him in the face,” he said. “Then I punched the other guy.”

He’s been fighting in cage matches and involved with mixed martial arts for more than a decade, he says, and was the national champion of Sri Lanka for five straight years.

Those skills came in handy — the suspects beat a hasty retreat and headed back to the getaway car, but not before the clerk punched one of the men to the ground, where his pals left him.

The downed suspect was arrested and charged with robbery with bodily injury, while the other and the driver got away for now.

Gas station clerk with MMA training surprises thieves [Click2Houston.com]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.