UFC’s Ramon Taveras says he’s lucky to be alive after a “group of gunmen” opened fire on the 30-year-old MMA fighter outside a Florida home last week.
“It’s unfortunate that I have to make a post like this, but I can’t let this go unnoticed,” Taveras (10-2-0) wrote in a social media post that included grainy doorbell camera footage of the alleged shooting.
The video shows a man, presumably Taveras, walking into the front yard of a home before opening a car with a remote key. That’s when several flashes of light shine from a nearby pickup truck or SUV, which then speeds away as Taveras remains safely crouched behind the sedan in the front yard.
Taveras was shot with a semi-automatic weapon, according to the Jacksonville police report provided to DailyMail.com.
On Instagram, Tavares went on to say that he lost his brother to gun violence in 2019 and criticized the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for failing to catch the killer.
Shocking doorbell camera footage shows gunshots coming from a nearby pickup truck or SUV (left) as the UFC fighter crouches behind a sedan in the front yard of the home (right).
Serhiy Sidey fights Ramon Taveras of the United States in a bantamweight bout.
“This city is unforgiving, and the worst thing is that the JSO is doing nothing to correct the problem,” Taveras wrote on social media. “I lost my brother in 2019 due to gun violence, and his killers have yet to be caught. Now I find myself in almost the same situation.”
Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies shared the July 29 police report with DailyMail.com, adding that “our officers are actively investigating this matter and this case remains open as an active investigation.”
The city experienced 157 homicides in 2023, 123 of which were the result of shootings.
“It’s tragic that I love my city so much and yet I am forced to leave,” Taveras wrote.
He went on to accuse Jacksonville police of suggesting he was the target of gang violence, something he strongly denies.
According to a Jacksonville police report, Taveras was shot with a semi-automatic weapon.
“They assumed I was targeted because of ‘gang violence’ or a problem I had caused,” Taveras wrote. “I don’t bother anyone, I stay in my own way, I focus on my career and my family. Even after I explained this to them, they continued to insinuate that I was involved in something that caused me to do this.
“Nobody is perfect and we all have a past,” she continued. “However, I have changed a lot from who I was 10 years ago.
“For such an incident to happen out of the blue is alarming. It makes me look at my life and my family in a completely different light.
“This is an everyday reality in my city, I am not the first nor will I be the last.”
Taveras broke into Dana White’s UFC promotion via the televised series ‘Contender’ last October.
The bantamweight has since defeated Serhiy Sidey via split decision at UFC 297 in January.