Just recently, in the city I live near, there was a similar type of situation. Guy starts a fight with a bouncer, and get's killed.

It was a much less dangerous than yours though; the bouncer wasn't stabbed or anything, so that only lends more to how in the right you were. Extremely obvious case of self-defense, and as you said...he probably would have killed that bartender, if he came in that night with a knife intending to burn the bar to the ground with people inside.

But in this situation, it was a drunk kid just making too much noise/commotion. Bouncer asks him to leave. Kid tells him to fuck off. Something you see in a bar probably 50x a week as a bouncer.

It's important to note this particular bar, is up a very long flight of steps.

Well the bouncer starts physically escorting the kid out, and for whatever reason, right when they get to the steps (I guess maybe because the kid saw the exit and didn't want to leave), he breaks loose from the bouncer, turns around and swings on him. The bouncer takes a step back so it misses, and pushes the kid. The kid stumbles, and goes down the entire flight of stairs. Dies.

I know about the case because I know the Captain for the department. No criminal charges were filled against the bouncer. They had camera footage, and it was more of a mistake than anything. It was a push for a punch, and they just happened to be near some stairs. I was in a Criminal Law class when the Captain (who was the professor) told us the story, and we had a debate about if it was true self-defense, and no charge should be filed, or gross negligence on the part of the bouncer, and the charge of manslaughter should have been filed.

Either way, bouncer is fine, and I think still works there. I don't know if there is a civil suit pending.

I considered being a bouncer for money while in school because I'm a big dude, but never did after that story. Having to physically deal with people under the influence is just a recipe for disaster.