Wardog Uncaged: MMA Fighter Freed While Facing Brutal Beating Case

A Minooka mixed martial arts fighter fighter charged with viciously beating two men following a confrontation at the bar where he worked as a bouncer was released from jail.

Michael “Wardog” Reid, 22, had been held on a $1 million bond following his arrest March 4. He was taken into custody with 27-year-old Nicholas Ventsias, also of Minooka. Police said Reid and Ventsias are either stepbrothers or half brothers.

Reid and Ventsias brutally beat two men outside the Shorewood Burger King, police said, leaving one of them hospitalized for nearly a week and fighting for his life.

The alleged attack came after closing time on a Saturday night at Skooter’s Roadhouse, where Reid was working as a bouncer. Ventsias was hanging out at the bar while Reid was working, police said.

After closing time, Reid and Ventsias reportedly got into a parking lot altercation with two other men. Those two men, who are in their 20s, along with a third man, left and headed to the Burger King down Jefferson Street. After they arrived, Reid and Ventsias showed up and attacked two of them, police said.

Both men were badly beaten, according to police, although only one lost consciousness. The police said there was some doubt the man would survive following the alleged attack.

Reid was released from jail Friday. His bond had been reduced to $500,000, according to jail records.

Reid and Ventsias both appeared in court the day before he was released. Ventsias bond was also reduced, cut from $750,000 to $375,000, but he remains in custody.