Combate Americas champ Bruno Cannetti recounts being shot during failed armed robbery

You can consider Bruno Cannetti a lucky one.

The Combate Americas featherweight champion was shot last month during an attempted robbery in his hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cannetti came out of the frightenting incident relatively unscathed despite taking two bullets from a .22 caliber pistol. He was shot once each in the stomach and the chest.

It all went down while two robbers tried to steal Cannetti’s motorcycle at gunpoint as he was trying to meet with his brother, UFC fighter Guido Cannetti, and his strength and conditioning coach.

“Guido tells me he’s going to swing by my strength and conditioning coach to say hello, so I decided to go there,” Cannetti told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I get off my bike and I’ve never been to his place, so I didn’t  know which bell to ring. I’m texting my brother so he can open the door for me and when I’m texting the delinquents pull up and tell me, ‘Give me the bike, give me the bike.’

“In that moment, I had already turned off my bike and put away the keys. I had the phone and my helmet in my hands, so I didn’t have my hands free. I put the things on the bike and I start looking for the keys and I couldn’t find them. I see they start getting nervous because I couldn’t find them so they get closer and they guy with the gun is aiming at my face and being more aggressive. The other guy gets closer like he’s going to hit me so I’m like, ‘Stop, Stop. I can’t find the keys.’ And when he got too close, I thought he was going to hit me so I reacted and I hit him before he could hit me and that’s when the other guy shot me twice, which hit me.

Cannetti ran behind a truck parked close by as the man with the gun kept shooting at him. Fortunately, the second set of shots missed. Cannetti did feel the impact of the bullets, but didn’t have time to check if he was ok, as the armed robber chased him around the truck in hopes to lock target on him.

“While I was running around, he wasn’t able to find me so he stopped and went back for my bike to see if they could get it and leave. In that moment, I went around the truck to try to hit the guy with the gun, because I thought they’re not going to be able to get the bike and they’re going to come back to kill me because they could take the bike. So thought I can leave the truck, hit the guy with the gun, knockout him out with the left, take his gun, and I’m good. But right when I was left the truck, they took off.”

Cannetti knows the robbers left in a nearby car that was waiting for them, but he doesn’t recall what the car looked like. Luckily, neighbors witnessed the incident and were able to get a good glimpse at the vehicle. Cannetti doesn’t know how long the incident lasted, but says everything unfolded within two minutes at most.

When the robbers took off, Guido went downstairs and checked on his brother. Cannetti saw he was bruised and had a wound on his chest but said he didn’t feel much pain. They immediately went to the hospital.

“They first did a tomography to see if the impact on the stomach didn’t generate a some internal contusion or something serious,” Cannetti said. “So they did a study to see how my organs were, then they looked at my chest and saw that the bullet was just superficial, so they decided to put me on local anesthesia, open my chest and take out the bullet.”

Normally in these situations, hospitals have a protocol where the patient would have to stay overnight in order to be monitored and be given complete clearance. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, Cannetti was sent home hours later.

“I’m perfect now, luckily the shots that hit me didn’t cause major damage,” Cannetti said. “I only took two shots: One hit me in the abdomen, but it only left me bruised, it seems the bullet ricochet, and the other shot the bullet was stuck on my chest. I think shooting me up so close the bullets didn’t have that much power and they didn’t fully penetrate.”

Cannetti says the wound is healing well and he’s back to doing light training at home.

He admits the failed robbery did shake him up a bit, but it’s not the first time he’s been in similar situations, as there have been several previous attempts to rob his bike.

“It does change you a bit, you’re a little more attentive now,” Cannetti said. “I mean, already live attentive because they’ve tried to steal my bike in the past so many times, so I’m always looking over my shoulder. … But yeah, always the first few months after an assault you’re always on edge and very attentive.”

Cannetti said the robbers were caught, as police were able to identify the getaway vehicle. He said they were arrested and later let go, which left him disappointed by the system. Cannetti was told by authorities he would receive an order to be cited so he can testify on the assault, but has yet to receive anything.

“It’s something normal that happens not just during COVID times, the human rights here in Argentina … they’re not in favor for the well being of, if they tried to kill you and they didn’t kill you, nothing happened,” Cannetti said. “You need to die for something to be done and if you defend yourself and they get hurt then you can end you’re in more trouble than them. The whole thing with justice is bad.”

For now, Cannetti is glad he’s healthy and things didn’t get more serious with the incident. He hopes to be able to defend his Combate Americas 145-pound title in the near future, but remains in limbo, as he’s unable to leave the country due to the COVID-19 lockdown.