In all honesty, especially considering Cody Garbrandt gets punched in the face for a living, the kick that actor Jean-Claude Van Damme landed on his teeth in a recent light sparring session didn’t look all that bad.
Garbrandt, having just lost his UFC bantamweight championship to rival T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217, probably wasn’t in the mood to taste JCVD’s heel. Van Damme, who was there to showcase kicking positions and techniques with Team Alpha Male, really beat himself up over accidentally smacking “No Love” with his foot.
Former UFC superstar and TAM head coach Urijah Faber was there to witness the entire fiasco firsthand.
“The guy that took it the hardest was Jean-Claude,” Faber said in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (shown above). “He was pretty upset that he kicked a guy that he loved so much because he’s good buddies with Cody. Cody was just coming off of this hard loss (to T.J. Dillashaw) as well.”
These types of things happen all the time in sparring, but for some reason the aftermath of the incident was more emotional than usual, especially considering Garbrandt was visibly upset.
“(Jean-Claude) was so pissed at himself, that he dropped down and got really emotional,” Faber added. “We had to console him. Cody left the Octagon, and I was trying to tell Jean-Claude ‘Hey, it’s OK, this kind of stuff happens all the time’. And he was like ‘Oh, what have I done?’ and this and that.”
“Oh he was big-time upset,” Faber further explained. “Because he could tell that Cody was pissed, and he’s a big supporter of our team. He came out there to specifically show us some stuff.”
Despite actually landing the kick on Garbrandt’s chin, you have to admit that Van Damme’s technique, positioning, speed, and dexterity were pretty impressive for a 57-year-old Hollywood treasure. I guess that’s why they call him “The Muscles from Brussels.”
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