This is a fight that every kid growing up in the 80s or 90s wanted to see at some point. Two martial artists, two action stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme vs. Chuck Norris. Of course, this fight is purely hypothetical, since Van Damme is no longer in his prime, and Chuck Norris never left him.
In this corner, we have a 5ft 10in action hero from Brussels, Belgium who weighs in at around 75 IMDB-listed acting credits and one awkward acting style. He won kumite in Bloodsport, outmaneuvered his hunters in Hard Target, traveled through time in Cop Time, and is a veteran of underground combat in Lionheart.
And in this corner is his opponent. This US fighter who once fought Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon. A longtime champion of jokes that are long outdated and thought to have died in a few pranks, Texas hero, with a string of film and TV appearances on his IMDB page, Chuck “Texas Ranger” Norris!
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Chuck Norris – Interesting Facts About The Legendary Fighter And Film Actor
Van Damme Would Win Right?
Neither Norris nor Van Damme are just action stars. Both have real combat experience behind them. How likely is he to win the Norris fight? Well, the Belgian has a black belt in karate. It may not sound like much, but before he moved to the United States, he competed in full contact from the age of 12 until he left Belgium at 18. His former karate coach, Claude Goetz, an experienced and world famous karate instructor, says in an interview posted on YouTube that Van Damme could have been a champion.
Van Damme is known to be serious about his training, which is necessary in order to become a rubber band man like him. When he started martial arts, his father built him a gym in the attic where Van Damme trained for four hours every day, according to Fighting Arts. According to Karate City, he still takes his training very seriously. Van Damme’s IMDB profile lists his fight record as 18-1, 18 knockouts in kickboxing and 41-4 in semi-contact karate, which is nothing to scoff at.
How Could Chuck Norris Possibly Win, Then?
Chuck Norris has an impressive track record. According to Liveabout, Norris’ overall karate record is 183-10-2 with 30 tournament wins. Norris was the middleweight karate champion for six consecutive years. He holds a black belt in tang sudo and, being the first person in the western hemisphere to ever do so, holds an 8th degree black belt in taekwondo. After losing a fight to Rickson Gracie, Norris continued to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, eventually earning a 3rd degree black belt in the art.
He created his own style of martial arts, Chuck Cook Do, and, as Entertainment Weekly reported in 2008, founded his own full-contact fighting league, the World Combat League.
Unlike Van Damme, Norris didn’t stop competing at a young age, giving him another edge. If we compare the records of the two competitors and take into account the different martial arts tools on the belts of each of our fighters, Chuck Norris will win.