Moments after a fist-swinging, stool-throwing, gut-kicking melee spilled out of an all-night South Beach pizza joint, Marvin Pognon found himself alone with his gun, facing off with a Miami Beach cop.

“Drop the weapon. Drop the weapon,” the officer shouted.

Police say he refused — and didn’t live to see the dawn.

Pognon, a 22-year-old talent manager with no prior criminal record in Florida, took two gunshots to the abdomen just before 5 a.m. He died at a nearby hospital a short time later.

“No one wants to take a life,” said Sgt. Alejandro Bello, president of the Miami Beach police union. “But [Pognon] came armed and ready to do business.”

The shooting was a tragic start to an what’s expected to be a raucous New Year’s celebration at the epicenter of South Florida’s nightlife scene. And it’s a striking reminder of another recent bloody holiday weekend — Memorial Day, when an allegedly armed man was slain in a hail of police gunfire after driving recklessly just two blocks away from the latest incident.

Friday’s saga began about 4:30 a.m. inside Med Pizza, a popular late-night snack destination at 1240 Washington Ave. in a neighborhood filled with nightclubs, including Mansion, SoBe Live and Automatic Slims.

“This is South Beach,” said Jimmy Ugucu, owner of the pizzeria, which was trashed during the brawl. “It’s late at night, people are drunk. From time to time, people are fighting.”

While waiting for their pizza, two groups of revelers — including Pognon — started mouthing off at each other, possibly over somebody’s girlfriend.

Surveillance video captured by Med Pizza cameras showed the brawl began with minor shoving but quickly escalated. Over-hand punches were landed. Bar stools were hurled. One unlucky participant found himself on the ground as another man stomped on him. The fight spilled over into the restaurant’s kitchen before stopping suddenly.

That’s when the combatants took it outside, and the brawl reignited.

Police and witnesses say Pognon, a Pembroke Pines resident, pulled a gun. According to some witnesses, at least one other person involved in the fight was packing a firearm, but cops could not confirm that account.

Meanwhile, police dispatchers began receiving calls about brawlers with firearms. A Miami Beach officer heading south on Washington came upon the scene and got out of his cruiser to intervene. Either scared off by Pognon’s weapon or the cop’s badge, everyone took off — except Pognon.

Police and witnesses said the two men stood with their guns pointed at each other, Wild West style, as the officer demanded that Pognon drop his weapon.

The cop, fearing for his safety, fired twice, police said.

Investigators later recovered a loaded weapon, presumably belonging to Pognon.

The officer, who has not been named, has been placed on administrative leave — as is routine — for the moment. The police department’s Internal affairs office and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office are investigating.

Pauline Alexandre, Pognon’s sister, told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 that her brother carried the gun for protection, but would never use it on a law officer.

“He was not a gangster; he was not a bum,” Alexandre said. “There’s no way he would have attacked anyone.”

Still, police say Pognon was an active participant in what was a particularly brazen melee. Details on who Pognon was were still emerging late Friday, but associates said he was a regular on South Beach.

He ran Plantation-based Goodtymers Entertainment, described as a record label and talent management company, and worked with such artists as Miami rapper Prospectt, according to Club Play General Manager RJ Otero.

“He had some artists we would help promote in the club and do record releases and album releases,” said Otero. “Really sad.”

A man who said he was Pognon’s bodyguard told WSVN Channel 7 that Pognon was trying to protect his girlfriend and friends when he drew the weapon.

“It shouldn’t have ended up like this, man,” he said.

Miami Herald staff writers Jared Goyette and Rene Rodriguez contributed to this report.