Business & Tech

New 101 ESPN Radio Host Stopped Grocery Store Thief In MMA Style

Jesse Finney will co-host a Saturday radio show on the Creve Coeur-based station later this month.

You may have heard his crimefighting story last month. But later this month, listeners of Creve Coeur-based 101 ESPN WXOS Radio will have a chance to hear Jesse Finney every weekend.

Finney owns Finney’s MMA/All In 1 Fitness in Crestwood, and along with Chad Range, will host "MMA Hit Squad” Saturday nights from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. According to a press release from the station, the program will "preview upcoming fights, talk to fan favorites, and give the thousands of fans in St. Louis - one of America’s premiere fight towns - a place that feeds their love of this hybrid of boxing, wrestling, jujitsu, and other fight disciplines."

Finney, who lives in Crestwood, is an experienced kickboxer, with a kickboxing record of 23–0, a boxing record of 8–2, an amateur MMA record of 4-0, and a professional MMA record of 6–1 as of late December.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

He rose to fame late last month for his efforts to detain a man attempting to steal alcohol from a South County grocery store.

According to Sunset Hills-Crestwood Patch 

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Jesse Finney said he headed to Schnucks in Crestwood around 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 to pick up some chocolate for his pregnant wife. As he neared the basket area, Finney noticed a female employee running after a man.

“I didn’t know if he had robbed the place, or if he’d assaulted somebody, I just saw her. He was pushing her off,” said Finney.

Finney grabbed the man by the coat. When he resisted, Finney slammed him to the ground and subdued him in a hold until Crestwood police could arrive, Finney said. 

“In the martial arts, it teaches you discipline and respect. If I wasn’t disciplined, I probably would have hurt the guy," Finney said. "Instead, I took him down and a bottle broke in his jacket. That’s what we really try to focus on at the gym here," he said.

The MMA-themed program starts January 19. The Wednesday press release confirmed that a hockey program co-hosted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch Blues Beat Writer Jeremy Rutherford and St. Louis Blues Play-By-Play Announcer John Kelly would start this Sunday.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Creve Coeur