We’ve all heard at least one or more Chuck Norris jokes—or, sorry, facts—to know that nothing and nobody wants to tangle with the roundhouse-kicking legend. The actor, author, and martial artist has been a pop culture icon for decades, and in his prime, he has taken on some of the most formidable opponents in Hollywood and on the martial arts mat, including the great Bruce Lee. Yet there are plenty of action stars we never had the pleasure of seeing Chuck Norris face off against, including the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Despite both actors having impressive martial arts backgrounds and filmographies filled with iconic action roles, Van Damme recently revealed who he believes would come out on top in a fight between him and Chuck Norris. And his response, which we’ll get to in a moment, may just surprise you.
Would Chuck Norris Take Down Van Damme In A Fight?
During a virtual session (watch the video below), Van Damme humorously answered a fan query about “Who would win in a fight: Chuck Norris or Mr. VD” by saying, “I run very fast.” But even though the 1980s action star may jokingly confess that he wouldn’t even try to fight Norris, we do know of at least one action hero the Belgian actor would confidently take on: Steven Seagal.
Steven Seagal Vs. JCVD
Back in the late ’90s, the two stars nearly came to blows at a party hosted by Sylvester Stallone. According to Stallone, JCVD did not appreciate Seagal’s suggestion that he was capable of beating him up and wanted to settle the dispute once and for all. Yet, in this scenario, Seagal was the one who ran away from the conflict (and twice at that), but you can learn more about the incident in this Fortress of Solitude article.
JCVD Is Still A Legend
While we may never have a definitive answer on who the greatest martial arts movie star is (though I’m sure many would argue for names like Bruce Lee and good ol’ Chuck), one thing is for sure: Jean-Claude Van Damme is still a legend in the world of action movies.
Over the years, this Hollywood titan has amassed some pretty impressive credits, including the 1988 slugfest Bloodsport, which is one of President Trump’s all-time favourites—or, more accurately, he adores all of the film’s gory fight scenes. However, despite all of these films featuring Van Damme’s famous splits and high-flying kicks, we’re still pleased to know that this muscle man knows he can’t beat the man, the myth, the legend, Chuck Norris.
RELATED: How Spider-Man Helped Jean-Claude Van Damme Become A Star
If Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris had to fight, who do you think would come out on top? Let us know in the comments section below!
Van Damme also trained with Chuck Norris for a while before he got the role in Bloodsport, Van Damme use to help out Chuck with training and he helped with the stunts for the first Missing in Action movie. In a real fight between these two, I would put my money on Jean-Claude because he has more flexibility and more muscle, to have that insane flexibility gives him more speed, his kicks are insane, Chuck Norris is a very talented and skilled fighter, I’m not knocking his abilities at all and the fight would be very interesting but Van Damme is able to do more with his kicks as he can stretch further giving him a better advantage and the ability to strike Chuck without being so closed to him. Definitely Van Damme, Chuck Norris is still the man and I respect him a lot.
Norris fought in the ring, something Van Damme never did. As one great fighter said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Chuck has been down that road, Vnn Damme not so much.