MMA fighters sued after alleged sucker punch

The plaintiff suggests that the pub should have denied service to the fighters, due to their allegedly violent reputation.

According to the blog Vancouver is Awesome entrepreneur Nathan Tonelli is suing Chieftain Hotel and Pub in Squamish, B.C. for the part — he claims — they played in a violent incident that occurred in August 2017.

Tonelli is claiming he was severely beaten outside that establishment by a pair of ‘notoriously drunken and violent mixed martial artists.’ Tonelli filed his civil claims lawsuit in June and named, as defendants, the owners of Chieftain Hotel and Pub and two members of their staff.

The lawsuit also targets the MMA fighters that Tonelli said beat him up. Those fighters are named as Taran Bir and Indroop Virk. Tonelli is also suing The Sound Martial Arts gym and its owners and instructors; Wayne Lefebvre, Johnny Thomaidis, Kasey Smith, Vance Shaw, and Mike Nasu.

In his lawsuit Toneli claims that Bir and Virk were training at The Sound Martial Arts before they began drinking at the Chieftain on the night of the alleged assault. He said they were intoxicated when they left the pub and that they were drinking from open bottles of alcohol on the street outside.

Tonelli claims Bir and Virk were trying to pick fights with passersby. Tonelli alleges that, when he passed them, he was sucker punched by Bir and beaten unconscious. Tonelli said this left him with a brain injury and a skull fracture.

In the lawsuit Tonelli states that Bir and Virk are ‘notorious’ for starting fights and acting violent when drinking together.

According to Tapology Virk has an amateur MMA record of 6-0 and is the current holder of the RITC featherweight championship title. Most of his fights have occurred in the B.C. based Battlefield Fight League promotion. Tapology also records that Bir has an amateur kickboxing and muay thai record of 3-0, while competing exclusively with BFL.

The Sound Martial Arts is home to recent UFC signee Cole Smith (7-0). He debuted with the promotion at UFC on ESPN+ 9 in May, where he defeated Mitch Gagnon.

Tonelli is arguing that the Chieftain Hotel and Bar knew of Bir and Virk’s alleged reputation and that, because of this, they failed to protect him and other members of the public by supplying those men with alcohol.

Tonelli’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for assault and battery, breach of duty of care, and negligence.