Movies
Stallone was clear who would win in a fight between Van Damme and Steven Seagal: “He was too strong”
Sylvester Stallone gave his opinion about the incident between Van Damme and Steven Seagal at his Miami home in 1997, and according to him, JCVD would have beaten Seagal if such a fight took place.
On several occasions, we have told you about the incident that took place in 1997 at Sylvester Stallone’s Miami mansion. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal were involved in a regrettable incident in which Van Damme chased Seagal around the house intending to beat him up in response to comments Seagal had made about him behind his back. Regarding this unusual incident in the feud between the two actors and martial artists, Stallone later commented that it was clear to him that Van Damme would have beaten Seagal easily for two reasons.
According to Stallone, Van Damme would have beaten Seagal in a fight because he was much stronger.
In a 2008 interview with FHM magazine, Stallone recalled the episode that marked the climax of the rivalry between Van Damme and Seagal. In 1997, Stallone, star of the ‘Rocky’ films, threw a party at his Miami mansion, inviting several distinguished figures from the world of show business, including Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Madonna. Van Damme and Steven Seagal were also in attendance.
According to Stallone, “Van Damme was tired of Seagal claiming he could kick his a** so he offered Seagal outside into my backyard. Seagal made his excuses and left.” Sly continued, “But Van Damme, who was berserk, tracked him down at a nightclub and offered him out again. Van Damme was too strong. Seagal wanted none of it.” In this way, the popular actor settled a question much talked about in Hollywood circles during the previous decade.
Recall that in 1997, Steven Seagal was 45 years old, while JCVD was 37; age could be a determining factor in the event of a physical confrontation. On the other hand, Seagal could have an advantage with his imposing height of 6′4′, although Van Damme and his 5′10′ were not far behind either. Finally, it should not be forgotten that in addition to being actors, both were real martial artists: Van Damme was an expert in karate and kickboxing, and Seagal in aikido.
But, apart from these purely physical issues, Sylvester Stallone himself considered that Jean-Claude Van Damme could have beaten Steven Seagal without difficulty for one main reason: his superior physical shape. It is true that back then he was not the same JCVD with the impressive musculature of ‘Bloodsport’ released ten years earlier, but the Belgian would have come out of this hypothetical fight with flying colors, according to Stallone, thanks to his strength and dexterity.
The other time Steven Seagal refused to fight Jean-Claude Van Damme
In a 2023 interview in The Telegraph, Van Damme revealed that in the first half of the 1990s, based on the rivalry between the two actors, then Sony Pictures co-president and CEO Peter Guber proposed a sporting event fight in Las Vegas in which each would be paid $20 million.
Steven Seagal refused, and only Van Damme’s version is known. This would be the third occasion in which Seagal would have refused to fight Jean-Claude Van Damme, which leaves him in a very bad place because it was he himself who initiated hostilities against the Belgian.
Although it would have been a guaranteed fight, all indications are that Seagal was overcome by stage fright, along with the blow to his reputation if, after all the talk against Van Damme, he could not back up his words with his actions or knowledge of martial arts.
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