Pastor who trains as MMA fighter holds off ax-wielding attacker at his church

Pastor Nick Neves, 46, has a mixed martial arts background with some training in jiu jitsu and kickboxing

Antioch police shared these pictures of the suspect and the ax in his alleged possession when he was arrested early on Thursday (Antioch Police Department)

An ax-wielding burglar got more than they bargained for when they broke into a church on Thanksgiving – and came face to face with a pastor who was trained in martial arts, police say

Pastor Nick Neves responded to an alarm that had gone off at First Family Church in Antioch, California, in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, the Antioch Police Department said in a Facebook post.

When the 46-year-old pastor arrived, he discovered the burglar and ordered him to stop.

A would-be burglar, who has not yet been named, was arrested after breaking into a California church (Antioch Police Department)

“I shouted at him to stop, and that the police were on their way, and he ran and I grabbed a hold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church,” Neves told NBC News.

What the burglar did not know was that Neves has a mixed martial arts background with some training in jiu jitsu and kickboxing – which helped him control the suspect without hurting him, he said.

“I was able to pin him to the ground and he got up and tried to get away several times, but basically I was just trying to wear him out because I knew I could outlast him,” Neves said.

Antioch police said they found an ax believed to belong to the burglar (Antioch Police Department)

The two men struggled for about 15 minutes before the suspect gave up and police arrived to take him into custody. The name of the suspect has not been released.

Antioch police said they found an ax believed to belong to the burglar. The ax was used to break a window on the church to gain entry, police wrote in the post.

“When the burglar saw his wicked deeds had been discovered he decided to fight with the pastor instead of repent,” police wrote.

“What he did not know was that the pastor would win this battle of good and evil and he held down the perp until APD arrived and placed the man in custody.”

The suspect used the ax to break into the church, police said (Antioch Police Department)

The pastor told NBC that there was no need for the burglar to steal.

“If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and got some food and be cared for,” he said.

“But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”