LoL Jai White has been f****n’ up lately. Talking shit about fighters, when he’s never even fought once in any type of competition! JCVD did actually compete, he has a 18 - 1 Kickboxing record. Kickboxing is very lax , but you can still take punches/kicks to the face and get KO’d. That’s a lot more than M.J. White has done.
Van Damme in his prime would have beaten any of these guys in a 1v1, through sheer physical condition; that doesn't mean he would WANT to be a professional fighter - it is a self consuming occupation; when you've got numerous concussions and broken hands, does that make you more capable in the next fight against someone who is more fit and knows just enough to hit and block? I'd say Van Damme wins
just want to let you know this man won fights in France Germany Italy Rome Hong Kong and in Japan he had a lot of fights and he's got more than Van Damme all those spinny cakes that Van Damme does will not win in a real fight and Jean-Claude Van Damme don't have no hands like Michael Jai White Michael John White got a lot of plans and adjustments Van Damme doesn't and Michael John White does not do the same moves in all his movies. and just like Forrest Gump said that's all I got to say about that
Van Damme in his prime would have beaten any of these guys in a 1v1, through sheer physical condition; that doesn't mean he would WANT to be a professional fighter - it is a self consuming occupation; when you've got numerous concussions and broken hands, does that make you more capable in the next fight against someone who is more fit and knows just enough to hit and block? I'd say Van Damme wins
@@andrespeight4255 MJW is a joke slow and fat dude who talks shit about legends and stars like JCVD and Bruce Lee because he will never be as big as them, this is just jealousy.
@@andrespeight4255 Van Damme in the 80's and 90's was at least an international superstar and box office draw. These guys like Scott Adkins and MJW will NEVER draw a crowd like that. Sure , he's straight to video now, but up until until Nowhere To Run he was makin a killing at the box office. His movies would make 3-4X their budget and more than a few have made 10-15X their budget like Bloodsport and Kickboxer.
@@CJTranceAddiction Van Damme to draw a crowd but he can't beat Michael Jai White and Scott Atkins and kickboxer was not better than Bloodsport and plus Hollywood look for the cute guys and a handsome looking faces that's one of the reasons why he's a national Superstar putting real life you would not be able to hang with Michael Jai White and Scott Atkins and Michael Jai White May Van dam look good in universal soldier 2 and the way he was good in that movie blood and Bones and all the other movies that you can think of in Michael Jai White movies I'm not knocking Van Damme it's just his fighting skills can be easily beaten by Michael Jai White and Scott Atkins they put more and more hard work than Van Damme does Van Damme is just a sexy face that Hollywood wanted to put on before them and Van Damme didn't make his movies other people did and Michael Jai White and Scott Atkins come up with their own stunts then down only comes up with the same old spinning kick all the time they became a little boring but Scott Atkins and Michael Jai White are really the real deal that's all I got to say about that
I think the confusion lies in the fact that "Van-Damme" is not his real name. Its actually Van Varenberg and if you do the research, you will see that "Van Varenberg" has a professional record in kickboxing (18-1-0) and amateur fighting (44-4-0). "Van Damme" on the other hand is a martial arts actor and a persona that "Van Varenberg" created when he decided to become a movie star. So it turns out that, this persona doesn't have a professional fighting record because his fights were recorded under the name "Van Varenberg". So in conclusion, "Van Damme" IS a real fighter!
Jean-Claude Van Damme total records: Semi-contact/light-contact record: 44-4-0 Kickboxing record: 18-1-0 PKA Middleweight Championship European Karate Federation Middleweight Championship 1st Journée des Arts Martiaux What is Michael Jai White are talking about???
@@joaoalmeida9264 he did not fight during combat league federation made by chuck Norris where karate became kickboxing with actual full power strike guys like Stephen Thompson
He forgot Chuck Norris he was world champ when Bruce called him to be in the movie with him, a matter of fact Bruce used a lot of real fighters in his movies.
@@verne51 Do more research and stop basing your knowledge of Bruce Lee off a Tarantino movie. lmao. Bruce Lee was one of the first to use Mixed Martial Arts. Before him all the different styles were saperate. Because of him we have MMA as you know it. Stop making your self look stupid on RU-vid.
@@verne51 He had everything to do with MMA, because of him people believed in mixing and matching styles. Before then it was unheard of and frowned upon in the martial arts community. Literally, almost every top UFC fighter attributes taking up MMA due to Bruce Lee, and even Dana "Pillsbury Doughboy" White has attributed Bruce Lee to being the godfather of MMA. Are you really going to diss on Pillsbury Doughboy white and Jon Jones, both of whom praised Bruce Lee for modernizing MMA during his era?
@@TheWilder30 He's a bit salty against VD. He knows VD deserves credit as a former fighter. Check out his interview with Scott Adkins to find out why MJW has some resentment and shows it by taking small jabs. He says that he did a 720 jump kick in US The Return that was cut out. He seems to blame VD. What he needs to understand is his signature kick and shine was supposed to be the jump scissor kick he used on VD to kick him thru the glass. VDs shine was supposed to be his signature jump 360 spin kick. Sounds like MJWs big ego tried to one-up VD by doing a 720 spin kick AND have the jump scissor kick in the movie. Know your place MJW...it wasn't your movie.
Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels,Belgium. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) Kickboxing record, and a Semi-Contact record of 41-4. Please Michael, tell us again about how Van Damme is not a fighter?
And yet Michael Jai white has never had a professional or even amateur fighting career. Why would he have an opinion on him being a real fighter anyways, considering 1982 in belgium was so out of his circle that even if he somehow tried to research him during that time, he could have never known about him especially since his name isn't even van damme. Just odd this guy has such an ego as well as all the other movie fighters meanwhile living this humble facade...
3:00 Its not hard to comprehend on what MJW is saying. he even says himself that he isn't a fighter. He's talking about paying your bills by fighting and not by acting. He's saying he and Van Damme can fight but that they don't get paid by fighting. He's not putting JCVD and himself in those categories like Jon Jones and Mcgreggor.
@@Slimkidd730 no he's talking about there was only one real fighter that transition from fighting to movies and it's full of BS because there are many. The guy basically said he does'nt know shit about the fighting world.
@@jaybeat1981 How are you saying "NO." You can't change the mans words. "NOR MYSELF...." He's not even including HIMSELF. He's stating that HE NOR JCVD are fighters because thats not what they did to pay the bills even though they can fight and are martial artists. MJW and JCVD are actors, NOT FIGHTERS. Same wayJon Jones, Ken Shamrock, etc aren't ACTORS but were fighters. ITs not that deep nor hard to comprehend if one has common sense since he's using proper words and logic to follow, especially when he includes HIMSELF.
@@houdinidagreat3 I wish he would've said what you did instead of making it sound like he's just the most the most elite fighter of all time.hes one of the few that has size, strength and quickness but he's not invincible. And I wanna make it clear that I like the guy but I'm starting not to because of him shittin on everyone.
JCVD is a real lifelong martial artist like Michael, fought semi and full-contact before he focused on acting, and was considered a pro fighter in his homeland. He just was not among the worldwide big league kickboxers like Benny, Chuck, Bill Wallace, Joe Lewis etc. I would qualify him as a "real" fighter turned actor. He was smart though and used his looks, style, etc. to make a great movie career. Michael is somewhat correct, but I think Jean Claude deserves more credit than he gives him.
"I'd get in the ring with anybody. Thats the truth. There's no professional fighter that I won't get in the ring with." Yeah, right. Prove it. Till then, just more Hollywood fantasy talk.
Theres not one video of this guy even sparring let alone a real fight in the ring hes full of shit and disrespectfull towards martial artist ego one hell of a drug
Dan Lewis If that isn’t the cat calling the kettle black. Not only can you not hear well but your recalls sucks. Look at what your original comment 🤔. Are you dumb, stupid or remedial?
Even if JCVD didn’t have a tournament fight record, it’s kickboxing. 90% of kickboxing training is sparring and constantly getting your ass kicked or kicking the other person’s ass-and getting hit in the face. Anyone who seriously studies a sparring-based martial art (like BJJ, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing) is a real fighter. If anyone doubts this, go pick a fight with someone who has been seriously training in kickboxing or boxing for let’s say 6 or 7 years. You’ll get your ass handed to you IMO there are four foundational martial arts in MMA (meaning it’s a great place to start before you branch out and incorporate other martial arts: 1) BJJ 2) Boxing 3) wrestling 4) kickboxing Don’t ever fuck with anyone who has spent 7 or 8 years seriously studying any one of those four martial arts. And JCVD spent way more than 8 years studying kickboxing Yes JCVD also has a karate background but people tend to forget his kickboxing background
Mjw defends and explains his point, he referred to jcvd kickboxing, a record holding isn't a fight. Bruce Lee, as good as he was and is legendary for his abilities, whose to say anyone could knock him out in a fight. (They can all do Steven segal in ) He even says himself isn't a fighter, so don't know why everyone is upset, they are theoretically brilliant fighters. But could they stand toe to toe with people bleeding pulsing veins, busted lips, If they land their techniques on you (mjw, bl, JL, JC, jcvd, any practice of martial arts or otherwise) you will know about it
He was actually bigger than Bruce Lee... Lee wasn't that known and popular during his lifetime... He really became a superstar post mortem. I can understand when pro fighters make their point about JCVD, like Bas Rutten or Mirko CroCop... But guys like MJW really have no business doing that.
@@romelmurdock4187 Frank Dux was a marine, unlike MJW ... Dux was also a martial artist, like MJW ... But during his time, there was no MMA... He had no means to compete professionally... MJW on the other hand had the chance to be in the early UFC's and show what he's all about... He elected not to.... Imagine the much smaller Royce Gracie would chocked him out in less than two minutes, or Tank Abbott would've knocked him out... His whole "myth" would've been flushed down the toilet... Obviously he can give his opinion on things, but he has no business talking shit about other people - he even said once that Mike Tyson was no fighter, merely a boxer.
2 Things: Van Damme was a Pro Karate Champion and Kickboxer before making any movies, so this guy is wrong. Van Damme's fight record is available everywhere under his real name Van Varenberg. This guy said he could defeat Bruce Lee anytime. which is hilarious.
No matter even BRUCE LEE IS DEAD( RIP) NO ONE CAN EVER REACH THE DEGREE OF MARTIAL ARTS THAN BRUCE LEE .. BRUCE LEE MASTERED ALL THE ARTS AND CREATED HIS OWN INCORPORATING HIS BEST CALLING IT Jeet Kune Do.."The Way Of Intercepting Fist"using no way as way..having no limitation as limitation..and so forth... In Life and in Death BRUCE LEE IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE "THE REAL DEAL" 😘 THAT'S A FACT BABY!!
@@WingsofHistory lol you're joking right? He made some awesome movies but he's far from a legitimate bad ass and has been humiliated multiple times from his mouth writing checks his ass can't cash. He puts down every other famous martial artist, claiming he can kick their ass and that they aren't legit but he is one of the least legit "bad asses" in hollywood
Everybody know if you said half the stuff on here in micheal jai whites face he would kick your ears off and stuff them In your mouth he’s the one who taught riddick from pitch black how to smash the metal coffee mug 😳because he himself smashed coffee muggs like no other😬🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂bulllll shiiiiiiiiii👍🏾
@Art Antipop 🤬Micheal jai white is a professional Ninja🧐ive witness this man😲stop a robbery suspect in the middle of the store😦with a gun cocked an loaded ready to rock😬and😧he drops his😰😤mentos the fresh maker one’s🤔don’t know the flavor😕😲not important tho listen🤫this man jumped up an🤯kicked the robbers😟eye lashes off😯didn’t🙁touch nothing else not🤭skin on the guys face😲the robber froze up because he couldn’t😳blink no more I’m telling you that man is🧐magnificent 😩he saved the hood😫from dying off by malt liquor an guess who was the pusher the😳man😏
If you search up Van Damme’s pops he has actual footage of him fighting in competition and winning trophies. So please dont misinform ppl. Your an inspiration and the real deal but bruh Van Damme is not just an actor
boshirahmed Im not arguing his competition vs UFC here i mean come on! Jai White fought the same way I watched his videos. Missing the point. The point is He stated Van Damme isn’t a real Martial Artist and he most definitely is!
@@VisualCrak it's he's ego, I agree with u.. He was unfair to kimbo slice.. Come on, its ego, its normal.. He's cool.. All fighters and wannabe fighters talk this way.. He's old school he's not gonna admit his old martial arts are outdated.. Like i said it does not matter he's still a cool guy.. He was good at his sport that's why he has an ego.. Plus Michael has had street fights van damme has not.. Egos..
boshirahmed I get it but man i could never discredit someone for putting in actual work and take away their contribution to that craft. I understand everyone talks as if their the best and its good to be confident but man Van Damme may have fought semi pro or for points but it’s documented and he has history in Martial Arts. Kimbo was super talented and I enjoyed watching him transition into the MMA scene and had he started much Younger and learned more he would have dominated for a few years! He had Zero stamina but was a beast much respect to that man RIP🙏🏼
@@VisualCrak people are humble when they lose a few times.. Being good makes some over confident.. Michael is lot more polite than segal, I can't tell if he's joking, he thinks he can beat anyone just by staring at them..
@@cloudman8911 no he did not he was just a shotokan point fighter , who sparred one time in the World famous Mejiro gym Amsterdam Netherlands and got his Belgian ass kicked by the Amateurs over there not even by the Pro fighters!! and that is the plain naked truth!!!
@@branco6942 Look up his real name, Van Varenberg. You'll see he does in fact have a very good fighting record. Van Damme is his acting name, you won't find anything under that name. He is a real fighter that became an actor.
I disagree with MJW on his definition of what a "real" fighter is. That's a very subjective definition because there are trained people in martial arts that don't go pro, but teach or do competitions and are REAL fighters! They're just not famous or on TV from being a full-time hired fighter, but do it for a LIFETIME. And they would be able to fight, teach, train and back up what they say. Michael Jai White clarified HIS definition of what a "real" fighter is to mean someone who does it for a profession like a UFC/MMA fighter/ or etc. People who make a living fighting. -_- I got love for Michael Jai, but he disqualified himself by his own definition and admitted to it. :/ It's craps on ALL the years a trained martial artists puts into their craft all because he said that they don't do it for money or a living. Nah. I have disagree with this one. Anyone who can hold their own during a real fight (also sparring) by using technique and skills that they trained in and apply it in a real situation is a REAL fighter. Train, Use, Apply (backs it up). So on that note, I see Michael Jai White as a REAL trained fighter that has trained for YEARS. Also, Van Damme did competitions and trained. He just focused on the "showy" stuff for movies. Doesn't mean he can't fight or doesn't know what to do in a fight. Let's not crap on Van Damme's legacy.
JCVD has semi contact championship wins in his younger days. I just feel MJW is a bit jealous, but I do respect him as a martial arts practitioner. I love JCVD both as a Martial arts practitioner and as a movie star he was a box office actor back in the late 80's into the 90's. I am a huge JCVD fan I have never seen someone do a better jumping spinning kick. I am a bit disappointed with MJW for being disrespectful towards JCVD he should know better.
Let me get this right so this guy who had never had a pro fight in his life talks about other fighters and says Jcvd was never a fighter even though he was a professional kickboxer.
@Czterdziestysiódmy I don't agree with everything that Jai White says (like his misinformation about the Shaolin, all the monks didn't die and there was more than 1 temple) but his movie career is definitely more impressive than Van Damme.
@@djsalteenuts the level of success is easily disputable career vs career. MJW whom isn't a legit martial arts expert in terms of any fight record, or anything other than verbal accolades, compared to JCVD, who does have a legit record, allows MJW to make an opinion is fine. But facts are facts and his opinion doesn't have any real merit and really should go left out. And it could be jealousy, or envy. You can go up to almost anyone and that will know who JCVD is, not so much so for MJW, unless you're a fanboy....
@@djsalteenuts Wat? Which MJW movie can compete with Bloodsport, NRNS, Lionheart, Universal Soldier, Timecop, etc? JCVD was as big as Stallone and Arnold back in the day. This clown's movies are mostly straight to floppy disk.
But, surely in Chuck's fighting days it wasn't full contact, and so we don't know how he would react to being hit flush on with huge punches/kicks etc. BTW, I think fans of fighting sports don't seem to realise that we have weight divisions simply to give the smaller guys a chance of competing and winning something...against people their own size!!!!!
@@yamahakid450f that's not a professional fight. Michael Jai White has never competed in a professional MMA fight. Although White is considered a knowledgable martial artist, he has previously stated that he decided not to pursue a career as a professional fighter.
Van Damme has won competition in his young days. There are videos on YT. I don't know why Michael Jai White said that, unless he didn't know about his life growing up.
@@tjmasterbarber2664 Who said anything about them being fighters? What was your point in bringing that up? I was basically saying Jean Claude Van Damme inspired Me, nothing about him being a legit fighter.
@@tjmasterbarber2664 Li isn't a fighter, Chan is. Just because the stuff he does in Movies is fake, don't mean, he can't fight. Movies are always fake, White is fake af in movies too. But he states he can fight. Chan's been jumped before by multiple men for money, and he came out on top, he even got a tooth scar stuck in his hand as proof. In their primes, I think Chan has a good chance to beat White, White just have size. Anything White says, honestly, it can go back to him too. Jet Li on the otherhand, yes. He can't fight for shit. Bashing on Bruce Lee though? Nah, Lee can fight, better than most. I think people are too ignorant, just because you do fake stuff in movies, don't mean you're fake. Especially when the whole point of a movie is to be fake. No one gets hurt. Even White does fake martial arts in movies. White's a great fighter, he's just not that great. To be talking like he's some master, lowkey saying, because he is, he can say this or that person is fake.
well, I must admit it... there’s something very impressive about Jai White: his self indulgence. “JCV is not a pro fighter (...) I’m not a pro fighter as well, but I can fight (...) I have gifts”. By the way, JVC has a kickboxing record. this doesn’t mean he’s good as Benny Urquidez, but everyone who has fought in a martial arts championship knows that it means something.
Lol...nobody said JCVD is the best. I just hate when people pay too much attention on him saying he isn't a real fighter. Means he is really a fighter. I actually like this dude (White) but often he's been sounding like an ahole
I noticed that too.... Jai White admits that he's not a fighter, but then pretends as if he's above the Seagal's and Van Damme's. He wants to be in between, LOL.
You just CAN'T be even average on kickboxing with a 18-1 record, where the loss was a DQ. Van Damme was basically undefeated in kickboxing and he stopped competitions due the huge paycheck he got on movies.
Everytime i see a Michael Jai White video it shows him saying things like how he can beat everyone on the planet, including Bruce Lee, Tyson, and Jesus Christ, and how this and that person is not a real martial artist, and how people are lighter than him and so he can beat them, and how he is the best sparer, and how he can box, and do kungfu, and fly and levitate, and do ballet, and studied jujitsu a few seconds after his birth for optimum retention. Dude makes Stephen Segal seem like a humble guy
In this very video MJW says he is not a fighter? Do people like you even listen? He says he can fight, but he is not a professional fighter. Jet li can also fight but he isn't a professional fighter. Now if he is wrong about Van Damme then he is wrong about Van Damme, but he is not putting himself above Van Damme.
@@officialhunterwade4065 He is trained in several disciplines but he never put a foot in any ring. He never competed in full contact tournaments. His record is 0-0.
I come from Egypt, everyone there knows Van Damme, he is even in all our normal quotes, if someone tries to show that he has a good kick, people always ask him” do you think you are Van damme?!” I watched all the movies for Van damme ( more than 10 times for each movie) and many movies for MJW ( I would never watch any of them twice), waiting for Van Damme kicks is like waiting for a huge reward, being a fighter is good, but Van Damme is loved as a person overall, his dance, his accent, his style, kicks, movies ….etc. being a fighter by MJW definition is not of any value for me. I wish he learns from Van Damme to make better movies and to know how to speak about other people
@@heraldofthunder6244 18-1 in Kickboxing, 19 ko's (the loss was dq from a KO on the floor). You can't KO' someone in a point based competition bro. JCVD was the real deal before making movies.
@Tyler Hingleton so tell us who mjw has fought.... Tell us where we can go to see him beat someone.... And tell us of someone who said he beat someone else... And why at his age he out here slagging off everyone....he just jealous and sad imo
I was in school wrestling and let me tell you how I got to be a school wrestler....I was in school and I was in gym class and they had mats on the floor and I was already training in martial arts so they had us wrestle each other and some of the boys was wrestlers I was wrestling a boy who was a wrestler his weight was 180lbs i was only 155lbs and I beat him the coach couldn't believe it so that how I became a wrestler......weight dosen't matter but in some cases it can help but I wouldn't depend on weighting more that your opponent .....they are small guy's that are stronger or as strong as bigger guy's.
TRUE Martial artists are respectful, peaceable and humble...a demonstration of this ideal, this mindset... this is not! Further to this, Van Dam Inspired a generation of Martial Artists, a generation!!!! like Bruce Lee before him...🙏
@@l.c.1704 First of all, Van Damme has a biggest career than MJW, a biggest fame and certainly a better lifestyle. Secondly, he says he is not a pro fighter but the public loves VD for its skills and movies, not because he has been a champion or not, MJW has not been a champ too and sorry to say that an actor is not necessarily a champion, lots of champion tried a movie career but it doesnt work for them
True Martial artists are also realistic and won't sacrifice honesty to spare someones feelings. There was nothing disrespectful or arrogant that was said and MJW holds himself to the same standard he holds other martial artists too.
Van Damme's karate teacher and coach was Master Claude Goetz. According to an article written by Don Warrener for FIGHTINGARTS, Goetz is one of the pioneers of European karate and studied under Tsutomu Oshima, a disciple of Gichin Funakoshi. Jean-Claude studied in Goetz's dojo in Brussels, Belgium. Under Goetz's guidance, Van Damme developed an impressive array of kicks and strikes. Van Damme has also studied Taekwondo and Muay Thai, along with Shotokan Karate. In 1976, at the age of 16, Jean-Claude made his full-contact debut under his birth name, Jean Claude Van Vaerenbergh. Fighting at an event sanctioned by the European Karate Union (EKU) in Brussels, Jean-Claude overcame a shakey start to stop fellow-countryman, Toon van Oostrum in 46 seconds. Master Goetz realized his young pupil needed more schooling before he was ready to compete again. In 1978, after two serious years of training, 18 year old Jean-Claude entered his first EKU tournament in Antwerp, Belgium in the Beginner's Division. Now equipped with more confidence and skill, Jean-Claude had little trouble in winning the tournament. He scored three victories; an 18 second knockout over German-born prospect Eric "Basel" Strauss, a 39 second stoppage over Michel Juvillier (Juvillier quit), and a 12 second stoppage of Orlando Lang. Two months later at a tournament in Izegem, Belgium, sanctioned by the World-All Styles Karate Organization (WAKO), Van Damme won his second Beginner's championship with first round stoppages over fellow-countrymen Emile Leibman and Cyrille Nollet. The WAKO was formed in Europe in 1975, under the leadership of Germany's George Bruckner and Mike Anderson of the United States. Brucker was based in Berlin, Germany and was a tae-kwon-do and karate instructor. Officially the WAKO classified its full-contact promotions as amateur, however, competitors were given substantial "training fees". The WAKO held their world tournaments in both Long Beach, California and Orlando, Florida in the 1970s. Fighting under the WAKO sanctioning body, Van Damme scored victories over Andre Robaeys, Jacques Piniarski, and Rolf Risberg; under WAKO rules which differed from those in the United States. Judo throws, footsweeps were permitted, although thigh kicks were not. There were no minimum kick requirements, and bouts were sometimes held on an open mat, instead of a roped ring. World Title bouts lasted six rounds, while contender bouts lasted five. Once a year, top competitors were required to participate in two-round, tournament syle eliminations to determine the year's top ten in each division. In 1979, Jean-Claude, took his 10-0 (10 knockouts) record to Orlando, Florida to compete in the WAKO World Full-Contact Championships. In his first tournament match (scheduled for 2-2 minute rounds)in the middleweight division, he met Sherman Bergman from Miami Beach, Florida (USA). After being knocked down in the opening moments of the bout, Van Damme came back to knock out Bergman with an ax-kick. In his next match, Van Damme stopped Portugal's Gilberto (Gil) Diaz at the half minute mark of the first round. In the semi-finals, Van Damme lost a 2-round decision to fellow countryman, Patrick Teugels. Returning to Europe, Van Damme fought in a two independent events sanctioned by the European Professional Karate Association (EPKA), in which he knocked out Algeria's Mustapha Ahmad Benamou and Bekim Moussa Muhammad. According to a April 2, 1989 article in the San Francisco Chronicle by John Stanley, Van Damme scored an upset victory over former European Middeweight Full-Contact Champion Michael J. Heming of England in 1980. Van Damme's big break came on March 8, 1980 in Brussels, Belgium, on a Professional Karate Association (PKA) event, in which France's Dominique Valera met the United States, Dan Macaruso for the PKA World Heavyweight Kickboxing Title. After Macaruso defeated Valera by 6th round knockout, Van Damme knocked out France's Georges Verlugels in 2 rounds to win the "Professional" European Middleweight Kickboxing Championship. According to an article written by Mike Anders, founder of Professional Karate Magazine, based on his victory over Verlugels, " Van Damme was definitely an upcoming prospect." Multiple European Full-Contact Champion Geet Lemmens supported Anders opinion. However, by now, Van Damme had his sights on a motion-picture career. Before he retired from active competition, he requested a rematch with Patrick Teugels, the only man to defeat him. Teugels was now rated 2nd in the world in the middleweight division by the WAKO. The rematch in Brussels was scheduled for 5-two minute rounds. At the bell, Van Damme came out punching and kicking. His overwhelming aggression was too much for Teugels and the match was halted in under the 2-minute mark (A video of this fight now appears on aol.videos). Following the victory, Jean-Claude retired from active competition with a 18-1 (18 knockouts) record. Once his film stardom took off, controversy arose regarding Van Damme's fight career. Researchers were unable to uncover any of Van Damme's matches. This was due Van Damme's having spent his entire full-contact career under his birth name of Van Varenberg.
Hell yeah Van Damme was a fighter. People tend to forget he fought before he was an actor and when the first Universal Soldier movie came out that was very early in Van Damme's film career where he had a few blockbusters at that point where his pre film life was almost entirely unknown but just because someone is un informed doesnt mean the events never happened.
People out there have wayyyyy short memories, they hate on the legends of yesteryear. A true indication of JCVDs fighting style and ability would be to watch No retreat no surrender, JCs agility and fluid movement in the ring in that is epic. The guy could fight.
Plus he has an actual kickboxing record that MJW completely ignored. The reason Van Damme looked so good in No Retreat No Surrender was because he was coming off his turn as a real life tournament fighter who was basically undefeated. So it really matched the aura he projected in the film.
Michael is going too far now he said van damme was never a professional fighter? Van was professional kick boxer between 1977 and 1982 compiling record of 18 wins and 1 lose.
Rick Somchai he also said Bruce lee is no match for him and now he said van damme just a actor and bro I can tell if Bruce lee was alive at his prime and he will killed Michael jai white for sure with no rule fight.
Rick Somchai that just his own opinion and you can said sparring is not consider a real fight but joe Lewis has told us that Bruce lee is the toughest guy he ever fought his life and van damme is been Announce being a professional kickboxer in his record and MJW is not and I m sorry bro i m just telling the truth.
Lol somebody has to expose the truth why not a actor who actually has black belts in 7 different styles and won over 20 tournaments he was a martial arts teacher but stopped to do acting
@@kdubspencer3390 I don't really care about what Karate tournaments he won. Either get in the cage, or shut up about being a real fighter. Who's a real fighter? Spawn or Mike Tyson?
This man just said he doesn't want to give himself the same accolades as real fighters because he's not one, then compares himself to Jon Jones and Mcgregor. The mans never fought a pro fight in his life, but thinks he's the fight guru
@@spiritualatom2535 As a competitor yes, I've competed since the age of 15. I've competed as a boxer, a kickboxer, Karate tournaments, more bjj tournaments then I can remember, and even a couple judo tournaments. So yeah, when a guy with very limited experience in competition says dumb shit ill speak up.
@@FRISKYxDINGOxx his argument is not that he has that experience. His argument was actually in defense of people like you but maybe you didn't watch the video.
JCVD has fighting record very solid one. Also very good action actor star. This guy none. One helicopter kick is enough and you are out. Van - Damme is the best
I know and I would beat the shit out of him and Jean Claude Van Damme. I getting tired of his bullshit. He's old and his ugly. I don't know how in the hell he got to make out with Jamie Presley. Fuck You Dick Samson. Fuck You. THE END.
How can a man who said that he himself isn’t a professional fighter , be full of himself ? Maybe he is just wrong about Van dam , but I don’t think he is arrogant. He is just differentiating between actors and real fighters.
JCVD is absolutely a "real" fighter. Its a weird story, thats kind of complicated, but he definitely has a professional fighting record of 18-1. You can most definitely watch him compete right now. I guess you can say he's a fighter turned actor, if your into semantics
I have lost respect for MJW . . . in one interview he says he can't thank JCVD enough for giving him the opportunity to train with him when others didn't (and that opened doors for him into the film industry) and here he is putting him down and then blagging about being born with a gift . . . the gift of egotism - which real MA's try to ditch the longer and deeper their training gets. So sad to see when people do this.
Size may give some a advantage, but knowing when to strike and where to strike anybody can take advantage of. Thats why time and repetition is so important And that is what separates professionals from practitioners.
jc1990wm David Taliai people keep saying he wasn’t pro but google and Wikipedia says he has a pro kickboxing record of 18-1-0 and he has a amateur record of 44-4. So what’s the deal?
jc1990wm I looked again I didn’t see pro, but if your over 18 and fighting that’s a pro fight period. Things like UFC didn’t exist back then. So the tournament’s is where it was at.
@@dariknour6051 "Listen to Joe Rogan" ---- Alright, you just disqualified yourself kiddo.... No in all seriousness, Michael Jai White has an issue in the sense that he talks A LOT on who is what, he's been doing that forever... But he seems to make an exception for himself - He always acts as if he's above the Seagal's and JVCD's, but not a former professional fighter either.... Then he always follows up with "I could have easily fought professionally, but didn't because yadadada..." or he says that he's been sparring with this and that pro fighter..... and he even commented on UFC fighters in the past. I remember back when Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silve were dominating their respective division, MJW came out and said in an interview "It's like professional fighters vs. amateur fighters".... I already knew back that he was on the wrong track, because the dominance of Machida and Silva was just a moment in time.... It was pretty arrogant on MJW's behalf to call their opponenta "amateurs". So as I already said - MJW is stuck somewhere in between, he doesn't know where to position himself... and he's way too proud to admit that every MMA fighter could kick his ass, because fighting and martial arts are two different things.
@@understandboxing3839 Yea, he really exposed himself with this Van Damme comments.... Because Van Damme definitely has credentials... Obviously he stopped getting credentials when he made the transition to acting... Just like MJW himself... So I don't know why he thinks he's above. He basically did the same as Van Damme,... He just wasn't able to capture global fame like Van Damme.
Joe mentioned plenty of times he'd love to get MJW on. I don't know what the hold up is. Mike was on Eddie Bravo Radio before he wound up deleting all of his shows. Too much conspiracy talk...
It all depends on his definition of a “fighter” I would say JCVD is a fighter since he has a Kickboxing record of 19 fights and 1 loss. And on top of that he has an amateur record.
He’s not a real “food on the table” fighter as he said. MJW and JCVD have both won matches and amateur accolades but they are not losing blood over how they really made their money. They aren’t REAL FIGHTERS. They can fight very well, but it ain’t for a living aside from on screen.
timothy khiangte 100%, this guy thinks his striking is elite. He may know how to throw proper kicks but when was the last time he fought in a pro bout, theres no record of him fighting. Mike perrys striking is bad for the level he is competing at but look at how many KOs he has in the UFC, perry would ko him on the feet or take him down and strangle him. UFC fighters actually fight they dont act or show demos
MJW: "I'm not a fighter, but I can fight. There's no fighter in the world I won't go in the ring with." and "I was born with a gift." Talking about how fast he is (compared to his Size). Ok. In his words Bruce Lee also wasn't a fighter. But doesn't he think Bruce Lee could fight? Bruce himself also said: "I have no fear of any opponent in front of me. I am very self sufficient. To be honest, I could beat anyone in the world and should something happen and I made up my mind, than you better kill me before." Furthermore, doesn't MJW know the physical attributes BL possessed? The speed, power and strengt he truly had? Which are captured on film and are acknowledged by true fighters like Joe Lewis.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-odsQwCAOU2k.html I’ll just leave this here so you can see what Bruce really looked like on camera. haha
@@ricksterdrummer2170 😂 The truth is we were *ALL* stupid when we were children and we all thought kung fu was the most super human fighting style there is. Now after seeing the UFC, we know hollywood is pure fantasy. Thats all Michael is trying to get people to understand. In a UFC ring with UFC rules Bruce would be a fish out of water. The Gracies would embarrass him just like they did everyone else for the first few years.
@@Darkness-ie2yl then why do UFC fighters refer to Bruce Lee as the godfather of mixed martial arts? If he was pure fantasy they would not say anything
JCVD was 18-1 as a kick boxer. With 18 ko’s. No one can ever be a better fighter or martial artist than Michael Jai White as long as he has a say in it.
Did everyone miss the part where he said he's not a pro fighter either? Lol what he did say is that he would get in the ring with any pro fighter. And the fact that he has 8 black belts makes me believe him. Y'all should really stfu about this guy smh
Hey SHOUTOUT Benny the Jet!!! My dad trained at the Jet center back in the day and Benny and Pete “Sugarfoot” Cunningham were the KIINGS back then. All respect to them and to Mr. White.
4:15 here Michael Jai White basically admits he doesn't have the heart to be a fighter. Which is incredibly honest considering the way he speaks he regards himself as just as good if not superior to any actual fighter to ever step in the ring/octagon.
Not really. He just says he doesn’t know because he hasn’t been there. And why should he? He’s making money with acting. He’s really a special type of martial artist. Jacked in his fifties, fast and flexible with very good technique. And no brain damage from fighting.
@@georgekondylis6723 That’s a perfectly sensible outlook, until he tries to involve himself in the fight game by trying to give advice to and training to actual fighters, and compares himself to and criticizes actual fighters who HAVE gotten the hard knocks in the toughest test in the business. He wants to be a fitness guy, perfectly fine…
@@MaxPowers2.0 I’ve heard some of the advice he gives to fighters. It’s actually really good. He’s probably sparred thousands of times, learned from great fighters and instructors, all while keeping himself in top condition. A great fighter is not always a great teacher.
@@MaxPowers2.0 While I would not endorse him as a main trainer to a pro fighter, I do believe he has a lot to offer. And I would bet that he’s done plenty of hard sparring as well. There are plenty of great boxing coaches, for example, who were not pros. My personal boxing coach is an engineer by day. He has trained three womens national GG champions and a few pro fighters. He , himself, has never had a pro fight. Would you exclude him as a legitimate coach because he has no record?
