Man Claims Fighter|Bit His Nose Off

HOUSTON (CN) — A Texan sued a Houston nightclub, claiming a drunk mixed-martial arts fighter bit his nose off when he tried to break up a fight in the parking lot.

Gaerson Bailey claims that after Ryan Josey bit his nose off, the MMA fighter tried to bite his nipples off, giving him "significant permanent injuries and scarring."

Josey, a 5-foot-11-inch, 185 lb. middleweight, has a 0-1 record, according to an MMA website. He is not a defendant in the lawsuit.

Bailey sued Club 2103 dba Clé Houston, on July 1, in Harris County Court.

He describes Clé Houston as "an upscale bar and club with capacity of up to 1,200 people, known to attract celebrities and all types of patrons."

Bailey says he was there in the early morning of March 18, while the club overserved Josey liquor "even though it was apparent to defendant that Josey was obviously intoxicated and presented a clear danger to himself and others."

As Bailey left the club at 1:30 a.m., he says, he saw Josey assaulting "an unknown third party" in the parking lot.

"Due to the lack of security provided by defendant Clé," he says, he "attempted to rescue the person being assaulted by Josey."

He "wrapped his arms around Josey and asked him to stop beating the unknown party."

In response, he says, "Josey, a trained professional MMA fighter, spun around and proceed to attack plaintiff by biting his face. The bite was with such force that Josey bit off plaintiff's nose. Josey in a drunken rage, proceed to throw strikes at plaintiff as he lay defenseless on his back. Josey then attempted to bite plaintiff's nipples off, leaving scarring on plaintiff's chest. As a direct result of overserving Josey, defendant has left plaintiff with significant permanent injuries and scarring."

Bailey was hospitalized, has had several reconstructive surgeries on his nose, and needs still more surgery, his attorney Adam Thiessen said in an interview. He has not yet been cleared to return to work.

Thiessen said Bailey is "reserving" civil charges against Josey "for the time being," but might add him as a defendant. The attorney said Josey faces criminal charges for the assault.

Clé Houston is the nightclub where Houstonian Robert Morgan says Justin Bieber smashed his phone after Bieber's April 9 concert this year. Morgan sued Bieber on May 3, also in Harris County Court.

Bailey seeks punitive damages for dram shop liability and gross negligence.

Thiessen is with the Pinkerton Law Firm in Houston.

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