Smackdown after thief steals from ex-cage fighter Tom Anderton

A SHOPLIFTER has learned the lesson of a lifetime after attempting to steal from a former cage fighter's record shop. He didn't expect what happened next.

Former MMA fighter Tom Anderton attempts to disarm the thief.

A SHOPLIFTER has learned the lesson of a lifetime after attempting to steal from a former cage fighter's record shop.

Retired MMA fighter Tom "Mate" Anderton posted surveillance footage of the December 7 incident on YouTube, narrating the moment he put the thief in a headlock in his Pennsylvanian store, Tom's Music.

"I just caught him shoplifting. I pulled them (the records) out of his back pocket," Anderton said. "I went to get the rest of the stuff in his pocket and when I did that, that's when he pulled the knife out. And it was a big knife and that's when it was on right there."

News_Rich_Media: MMA fighter-record store owner chokes out alleged thief

In a matter of moments he had restrained the thief and had him in a headlock.

"He just went down, I'm not trying to choke him out at the minute," he says in the video describing the dramatic headlock.

"He's still struggling ... in a second I just put my hand on the back of his head and apply a bit more pressure and he just goes limp.

News_Image_File: Anderton grips the thief in a lock until he goes limp.

"I pretty much let him go then."

Anderton's twelve-year-old daughter Abi was in the store during the incident, just two feet away from the scuffle.

"It was very scary, I was scared to death, I didn't know what was going to happen," he said.

"In eight years I haven't had anything close to that, I'm just glad no one got hurt and it worked out the way it did."

According to WPMT-TV, police soon arrived on the scene and the man was charged with felony.