Australia’s Renato Subotic has coached fighters who competed in Bellator and the UFC, and so was looking forward to expanding with his planned USA trip. As he crossed borders, the whole plan took a dangerous turn; He found himself getting interrogated and being taken to jail. The whole experience dejected him, but in a lengthy Instagram post, he shared his story. He wrote:

“From Seminar to Cell: My 24 Hours in a U.S. Federal Prison, arrested for to much knowledge in MMA. I arrived in America excited, ready to coach my seminar. It was supposed to be a great trip. Instead, I got stopped at the border. Immigration pulled me aside and took me into an isolated room. The officer interviewing me looked like he was looking for something wrong. It was obvious why I was in the U.S. I gave them every specific detail about my seminar, my plans, everything.

“They kept me in that room for three hours, asking endless questions, I was collaborative. They told me there was a mistake with my visa and that they were taking me to jail “until they figure out what’s next.” Just like that. No clear explanation, no chance to talk to anyone, no rights. They handcuffed me, put me in a car, and drove me to federal prison.

“They stripped me of everything. Took my clothes, gave me jail clothes, fingerprinted me, took photos, searched me. Gave me a blanket and sheet. Then they walked me to my block — 4B. The moment the door opened, it was chaos. Fights between gangs. People screaming. Arguing over food, what to watch on TV, crazy people running around. Madness. The guard walked me to cell 221, where there was a filthy mattress with patches of pi– and blood.”

What followed left Subotic, the highly respected coach in the combat community, highly dejected about the situation he found himself in. “The guard told me to hurry up so I could get some food. I dropped my stuff and went downstairs. While I was in line, four guys started beating the hell out of another guy, smashing his head into the fence. I wasn’t even hungry. I just grabbed an apple, ate it, and walked straight back to my cell. When I got back, two Mexican guys were in there, stealing my blanket and sheet.

“I said, “Hey bro, what are you doing?” One of them replied, “Getting my stuff.” I said, “That’s my stuff.” And he looked at me and said, “What are you gonna do about it?” We had a fight. I got my stuff back.

“The other one ran out of the cell, screaming, the people in the nearby cells came to watch what was going on. When the guards rushed up, no one said anything. The guard looked at me and said, “You got a good welcome. Keep your head straight, or you’re gonna stay here longer.”” But that’s not where the ordeal ended.

The post’s caption, though long, simply didn’t have the space for Subotic to share the entirety of his experience. So he also took to the comments to write more about it. He detailed how he was unable to sleep in his cell as one of the guys he fought with earlier turned out to be his cellmate. But as per his own confession, the cellmate backed off. In prison, he also met a group that he called ‘The Romanians’, who warned him about his cellmate.

Later on, he wrote: “I stepped out of my cell and met a few Romanian guys next door. They warned me, “Be careful. Those guys are part of a gang. They’re going to come for you later.” I went downstairs. I started looking around. Some people stared at me, some people nodded at me. I didn’t know who was who, so I just sat in a corner, watching and trying to figure things out.

“A Venezuelan guy came up and sat with me. “Hey bro, are you the fighter? You beat up the Mexican?” I nodded to him. He told me, “They didn’t see your ears? You don’t mess with a guy with ears like that, they do that to every new guy. They try to intimidate you and take your sh–.” He said, “There’s another fighter here, Samoan . You should meet him”.”

However, the guys he fought earlier had their eyes on him constantly. He also detailed how he met several different people there, but when he noticed that there were phones, he asked a guard if he could call his family to inform them about the situation. He wasn’t allowed to contact them as he was told he would have to wait three days before his turn could come.

Renato Subotic: Australia’s national MMA coach received no explanation about the situation

At 6 AM the next day, the coach was let out of his cell for breakfast and then taken to the airport. “At the airport, they kept me in a room without telling me when I’d fly. Eventually, I got the info: I was being deported. An officer walked me to the plane. Before taking off the handcuffs, he looked at me and said: “I’m sorry this happened to you. They messed up big. It shouldn’t have gone this way.” This whole experience was unreal.

“It’s insane how easily someone can take away your freedom, lock you in a federal prison, without a clear reason. No explanation. No warning. Just like that, you’re treated like the worst criminal. I believe in respecting the rules. But putting someone in federal prison over a missing detail in a visa application?

“I apologise to everyone who attended to my seminar it was sold out, I was exited you meet you and share my for the sport with all of you. That’s crazy. Now I’m back in Australia, I’ll speak with my lawyers something has to be done about the way I was treated. Hope this never happen to nobody else.”

The coach is back in his country. He has over 12 years of involvement with IMMAF (International Mixed Martial Arts Federation) and 25 years of experience in mixed martial arts, and his love for combat pushed him to develop eight world championship gold medalists. And while he went through a scary situation, it seems he is back at the gym.

You see, hours after explaining how his trip went south, he posted a training reel on Instagram, where he explained to his followers how to force an opponent onto their back foot. He is back to doing what he does best. Coaching athletes.