Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums - View Single Post - Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kickboxer or Hoax?

legwarmers1980 · 06-24-2009, 05:51 PM

I'm a big fan of Jean-Claude. When he first received acclaim as an action star in the late 1980s, he was bashed by "so-called" martial artists experts as being a fake.
Don "The Dragon" Wilson called Van Damme a phoney & challenged him to a bounty match. Someone from BLACK BELT MAGAZINE (might have been the editor at the time, not sure) said Jean-Claude was 0-1 as a kickboxer.
Throughout this whole time, JCVD never complained & never even tried to defend himself. He knew in his heart what he did & had nothing to prove.
Recently, thanks to the internet, tons of information has come out about his full-contact career. Former opponent Patrick Teugels "claims" two victories over VAn Damme. This might be true, or it just might be one victory. Some published records list Van Damme as 18-1 (18 knockouts) and others list 18-2 (18 knockouts). The 18 victories are the same on both records, only the "loss" column is in dispute. Dozens of photos showing Van Damme fighting are now out on the net along with some video footage of some of his matches.
Van Damme has victories over legit fighters like Patrick Teugels, Sherman Bergman, and Gilberto Diaz.
Jean-Claude was for real, yet still, people love bashing him. The evidence supports the facts. Jean-Claude fought full-contact. He won 18 fights. He won 18 fights by knockout. Regardless of 1 or 2 losses to Teugels, Jean-Claude broke Teugels nose and stopped him in 1 round. Jean-Claude KO'd American kickboxer Sherman Bergman in 56 seconds. Bergman was 56-8 (56 KO). Gilberto Diaz had 44 victories in South America & lasted 13 seconds with JCVD. He also KO'd British Champ Mike Henning(s), & French Champ Georges Vergugel in 2 rounds.
Could JCVD have competed today? Sure. If he was 18 & trained today, there's no doubt he could compete in K-1 or Kickboxing. His 100% KO ratio gives him that punchers change.

06-24-2009, 05:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
legwarmers1980 Yellow Belt Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: South Beach Posts: 164	Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kickboxer or Hoax? I'm a big fan of Jean-Claude. When he first received acclaim as an action star in the late 1980s, he was bashed by "so-called" martial artists experts as being a fake. Don "The Dragon" Wilson called Van Damme a phoney & challenged him to a bounty match. Someone from BLACK BELT MAGAZINE (might have been the editor at the time, not sure) said Jean-Claude was 0-1 as a kickboxer. Throughout this whole time, JCVD never complained & never even tried to defend himself. He knew in his heart what he did & had nothing to prove. Recently, thanks to the internet, tons of information has come out about his full-contact career. Former opponent Patrick Teugels "claims" two victories over VAn Damme. This might be true, or it just might be one victory. Some published records list Van Damme as 18-1 (18 knockouts) and others list 18-2 (18 knockouts). The 18 victories are the same on both records, only the "loss" column is in dispute. Dozens of photos showing Van Damme fighting are now out on the net along with some video footage of some of his matches. Van Damme has victories over legit fighters like Patrick Teugels, Sherman Bergman, and Gilberto Diaz. Jean-Claude was for real, yet still, people love bashing him. The evidence supports the facts. Jean-Claude fought full-contact. He won 18 fights. He won 18 fights by knockout. Regardless of 1 or 2 losses to Teugels, Jean-Claude broke Teugels nose and stopped him in 1 round. Jean-Claude KO'd American kickboxer Sherman Bergman in 56 seconds. Bergman was 56-8 (56 KO). Gilberto Diaz had 44 victories in South America & lasted 13 seconds with JCVD. He also KO'd British Champ Mike Henning(s), & French Champ Georges Vergugel in 2 rounds. Could JCVD have competed today? Sure. If he was 18 & trained today, there's no doubt he could compete in K-1 or Kickboxing. His 100% KO ratio gives him that punchers change.