The transcript below is from the video “The Curious Story of Steven Seagal in MMA” by MMA On Point Extras.
Ed Soares:
…..
Anderson Silva:
“I started training with Steven Seagal.”
Chael Sonnen:
“Well Penny you knew when you asked him a question that you were setting yourself up for a boring answer and you got one, so what are you gonna do?”
MMA On Point Extras:
In the build up to UFC 117 there wasn’t much that Chael Sonnen got wrong. He was a promotional marvel but for me he was way off the mark here. Anderson’s response when questioned about the specific changes he had made for Chael was a lot of things absorbed bizarre and kind of funny but it certainly wasn’t boring. For those uninitiated Steven Seagal is a martial artist torn movie star who in the late 80s and through the 90s starred in a string of hits including above the law hard to kill and his opus Under Siege. But what made him unique among most of his contemporaries and predecessors your Van Dammes, Jackies, Norriese, and these was that his mastery was in an obscure martial art known as Aikido. A system focused primarily on trolls usually by manipulating an opponent’s momentum as well as joint locks and even weaponry. The issue with it though despite looking awesome on screen is that in a real world combat situation and ergo in mixed martial arts competition its effectiveness is dubious at best. I mean the rise of shoot fighting like the UFC pretty much scrutinized what arts work and Aikido wasn’t one of them. So that brings us back to Anderson what was his use of an Aikido master turned movie star turned cop, turned musician, torn Russian American emissary. Was it simply because his walkout music was in a cigar movie and how did it escalate to the point where that same guy was affiliated with multiple UFC champions.
Well let’s find out I’m Rob from MMA on point and this is the story of Steven Seagal in MMA. While it wasn’t until the 2010s that Seagal made headlines in MMA he had brush shoulder with a de facto mixed martial artist well before that. Around 1990 1991 he allegedly confronted the then stuntman Judo Gene LeBell on the set of vote for justice. LeBell before a move into Hollywood was a Judo player as his name suggests but he also cross-trained in the likes of Boxing, Karate, and Catch Wrestling. He’s even credited with winning the first ever televised MMA fight in 1963 when he choked out ranked boxer Milo Savage 30 years before Royce Gracie would do it against Gerard Gordeau at UFC 1. In other words no matter which way he could it jain who also refereed Antonio Anoki vs Muhammad Ali in the 70s was a mixed martial artist the term just didn’t exist yet anyway.
The story goes that Seagal heard that LeBell was a tough guy and approached him to boast about how he was immune to choke somehow. And long story short a demonstration ended in Seagal going unconscious and well soiling himself. Now even after researching this I have no idea if this story is actually authentic. Segal denies it naturally and Stephen Lambert another stuntman on set wrote that while a confrontation did occur Seagal wasn’t choked out and he certainly didn’t [ __ ] himself. Moreover even Gene only teasingly hints at it when asked and never really confirms it. Regardless their feud would continue through the 90s when LeBell got involved in the dirty dozen a group which formed in response to Seagal’s open challenge in Black Belt Magazine where he said he would fight any martial artist to the death. And while LeBell wasn’t an original part of the dozen he was considered an additional member although he would distance himself when it began costing him work. Interestingly though one of the original members Bill Superfoot Wallace would go on to play a small, but important role in MMA history serving as the first and let’s be honest probably the worst play-by-play guy ever in the UFC.
Bill Wallace:
“Hello, I’m Bill Wallace and welcome to Nickels Over, excuse me at McNichols Arena.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Seagal’s challenge would reach another UFC One cast member Jason Delucia who traveled 3000 miles to accept it personally only for Seagal to never show up at his own school. Delucia would however accept another challenge while in LA although this one was as real as it gets and it saw him lose that is soon to be UFC will champion Royce Gracie in the family’s dojo. Delucia who would compete in an on televised fight at UFC 1 would later admit that he was grateful for Seagal for leading him to Royce and then ultimately MMA. For the record Seagal wouldn’t hold up his side of the challenge against the dorky dozen either and he wouldn’t grace MMA circles in any real capacity until 2010 when a month before Silva’s not boring revelation training footage surfaced online. And while it was all largely dismissed as a joke that would eventually fall flat when Seagal showed up at UFC 117 where Anderson hit the hail Mary triangle on Chael. The suggestion was that the Sensei might stick around for a little longer and oh boy did he. Soon more training footage surfaced online this time featuring Silva’s teammate Lyoto Machida then a few months later Seagal would show up for Anderson’s title defense against Vitor Belfort. He was even singled out on the broadcast this time and was given a ton of credit by Joe Rogan who acknowledged his Aikido expertise and called him an accomplished mixed martial artist. This praise was subsequently compounded when Anderson after kicking Vitor Belfort in the face to defend his belt thanked his newest coach. Seagal unlike at UFC 117 where he mostly dwelled in the shadows would now start giving interviews. He revealed to Karen Bryant that he not only taught Anderson the kick, but he also mapped out a game plan for him before telling Ariel Helwani the origin story of his relationship with Silva.
Steven Seagal:
“Right before he walked out, I said you know stay away from him for the first. You know two three minutes. Just kind of get him frustrated and then fake low and come high and do that kick that I’ve been teaching you and kick him in the head or the face and he did exactly what I said. He actually sent me a letter or a memo saying will you please teach me your deadly stuff and then i made a point to come and see him.”
MMA On Point Extras:
He then claimed that he created the kick and when asked if he had seen it performed before Anderson his answer was to the point.
Ariel Helwani:
“Anderson after the fight said that he learned that front kick to the face from you?”
Steven Seagal:
“Right.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Where’d you teach that where’d you learn that?”
Steven Seagal:
“Where did I learn or I learned it you know. Uh you know sort of a variation of that in Japan. Probably 30 40 years ago. And I’ve been perfecting it all these years. It’s not exactly Karate it’s just something that I created. That’s a little bit different.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Have you ever seen someone in a combat sports match knock someone out with that kick?”
Steven Seagal:
“Well nobody knows the kick. I’m teaching it to Machida and Machida sun and Anderson and few of the Brazilians, but we haven’t really used it much yet. I haven’t, I haven’t shown it to many people yet.”
MMA On Point Extras:
And the reaction from the fanbase after this especially from the hardcore division was kind of as you’d expect. How could you possibly claim that you invented the kick and maybe a day one or two Karate technique and nobody knew it not even Anderson [ __ ] Silva. But here’s the thing looking at the footage and moving past the chops, no control shoulder locks, and poorly applied camel clutches, cheeky baby bliss. There was a demonstration of a front kick and sure it was aimed at either the knee or the nuts height dependent, but still evidence as tenuous as it was technically existed. Either way he would be back in the headlines, just two months later when another kick went viral. This time it was by Leo Machida after he leapt in the air Daniel’s Son eat your heart out and crane kicked Randy Couture into retirement. Seagal much like the Anderson belts was counted to embrace Machida pre-fight getting another shout out on the broadcast in the process. He was then back in front of the cameras after the dragon like Silva tipped his hat to the Aikido master in the post-flight oppressor.
Ed Soares:
The technique itself, I’ve known, for you know, we’ve both known for a long time, but I definitely think that Steven Seagal being involved and influencing us and helping us perfect the kick definitely made a difference.”
MMA On Point Extras:
After taking an impromptu call midway through the interview with Helwani which wouldn’t be the last time he’d do that by the way. Ariel to his credit asked the question that everybody was thinking love you.
Ariel Helwani:
“I have to ask you, um there were some people in the MMA community who said they weren’t buying what you were selling. I don’t know if you saw, lot of people were saying that you were taking credit for a kick. That has been done many many years ago and they were showing footage of it and a lot of people didn’t buy it. Essentially and I wanted to get your response to that.”
Steve Seagal:
“I didn’t invent anything. I modified them in such a way that I think i can make my students and myself in a real fight land them and hurt people. Am I the inventor of kicks and punches, and anyone kicks like that of course. I’m not saying I invented anything and nobody should put those words in my mouth.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Okay, so I guess he technically didn’t say he invented the kick. I mean those exact words weren’t used, but.
Steven Seagal:
“It’s not exactly Karate, it’s just something that I created, well nobody knows that.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Either way Seagal Mania if I can call it, that was running wild, and that’s despite a damning scoop having leaked out of Brazil a week before the event published. In Port Aldu Valitudo it was revealed that Anderson’s agent had orchestrated the Seagal project as a means to boost his client’s visibility stateside. The piece would go on to say that while Team Silva taught it had worked a charm they felt that it had gone too far. Especially when Seagal began to believe it, but here’s the thing that news didn’t really penetrate, the USA MMA Beat in any significant way. Neither did Anderson Silva’s 2011 documentary, “Be Like Water”, which pulled back the courtroom on that famous conference call which started it all.
Anderson Silva:
“If I started training with Steven Seagal.”
MMA On Point Extras:
So unless you were a hardcore fan you probably didn’t know for certain that it was all rules at this point. Granted I’m sure that most suspected that it was, but with these designedly public relationships of which one was with arguably the greatest fighter on earth and with the major players keeping up appearances and with training footage ostensibly showing Seagal teaching a version of a front kick. Nevertheless his next move was an interesting one, he would miss Anderson’s UFC 134 finish of Yushinokami, but with the event taking place in Brazil perhaps the eclectic Sensei had other commitments. Like playing music or shooting Stephen Seagal’s lawman, a reality show following his adventures as a real-life deputy in Louisiana. Or maybe he was off dealing with one of his many lawsuits like the one which was ultimately thrown out where while filming that show. He accompanied by a Swat Team raided a suspected cockfighter’s house in a tank taking out some 100 chickens and allegedly shooting a dog.
News Anchor:
“He says there was no probable cause his client was armed or dangerous. And believes this entire scene was basically a stage to help actor Steven Seagal’s TV show lawmen 115 birds were euthanized on the spot.”
Lady Lawyer:
“Definitely overkill.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Um absolute overkill I agree lady, overkill indeed. Anyway he would find the time to show up to UFC 135 to help out a new friend.
Karan Bryant:
“Man who are you specifically here to see?”
Steven Seagal:
“Well Mr. Jon Jones is a little bit of a friend of mine and uh he wanted me to come.”
MMA On Point Extras:
So yeah it turns out that he had taken a liking to the newly minted 205 pound champion Jon Jones. And to his credit, he wasn’t completely clueless when it came to Jones’s talents. As evidenced by this interview on fight day.
Steven Seagal:
“I think, that it’s possibly going to end up on the ground. And Jon’s very good on the ground because he doesn’t just wrestle, he uses, you know, his elbows, he grounds and pounds, and he’s just he’s just, you know, real talented on the ground too.”
MMA On Point Extras:
The problem though was that despite claiming that Jon had invited him. Reports broke midway through the event alleging that Jones had actually banned from entering the locker room, a story he later confirmed at the post-flight presser.
Jon Jones:
“Uh yeah, he called me a few days before the fight, and uh just told me that he felt as if I was going to win the fight. And that he uh, that he saw a lot in my skill set, and he thought that he could help. And uh he was wondering if you could come and talk to me backstage before the fight. And just kind of give me some words of encouragement, um and i think that would be a good idea Jones.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Jones would subsequently expand on this in an interview with Jim Rome admitting that he didn’t know how Seagal got his number and was skeptical of his motives.
Given that he was close with Machida, a guy Jon expected he would fight soon. Still one would have to wonder if Jones did ask Seagal to come or at least acquiesce to his request. Only to shut him out on fight day, because that would be bad no matter your opinion of Seagal. Regardless it clearly flipped a switch in the Aikido black belt, where he was totally complimentary of Jon’s pre-fight post fight his analysis was noticeably mixed.
Steven Seagal:
“Jon Jones wasn’t himself tonight.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Really you thought, so because a lot of people thought that that Joe Rogan said it was his best performance.”
Steven Seagal:
“Oh well okay.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Are you not a Joe Rogan fan.”
Steven Seagal:
“I’m, I’m, I’m a fighter, I’ve fought all my life, you can listen to him and maybe he knows more than me, I don’t know.”
Ariel Helwani:
“I was just saying just because that’s what he said so i wanted to get your take.”
Steven Seagal:
“On my opinion Jon Jones is much much better than that.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Okay, so here’s the thing about that clearly, he was in a bad mood, I understand. But what was that reaction God forbid Joe Rogan could offer a fair counter to his, but maybe he had heard Rogan take the piss out of him on the JRE a few months ago. Or maybe he never forgave Joe for this.
Joe Rogan:
Stephen Seagal, that fat fraud’s a disgrace to the martial arts.
“Anyway after all this it appeared that Seagal had maybe left the MMA scene for good. He disappeared for the rest of 2011 and didn’t even attend UFC 140 when the Cormier got his title shot against Jones. The only time he was really mentioned was when he was called out by a few UFC fighters most notably Nam Pham. Leo also briefly spoke about him ahead of his title shot, but only when asked.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Will Sensei Seagal be in your in your corner on Saturday night?”
Lyoto Machida:
…..
Ed Soares (Translator):
“Not as of right now, I haven’t really spoken too much to Steven Seagal. I haven’t really had too much communication during this training camp with him.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Then there was Tom Lawler who gave him the weigh-in treatment at UFC 139 classic Lawler. And then he would eventually resurface alongside Anderson in a Budweiser commercial of all places. Good ad terrible beer especially those bud light more [ __ ] because they don’t pay me nothing. He’d then appear on CNN and would naturally bring up his contributions to MMA.
Pierce Morgan:
“You’re still dangerous?”
Steven Seagal:
“Let me tell you this the guys, that i’m training in ufc. Uh you know, some of them have gotten their championship belts, world championship belts, because they’ve attributed that to me. And me teaching them, so I still know a thing or two.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Then you’d become a regular of sorts on the MMA error where Ariel how Segal making three appearances in a little over 12 months. Ariel incidentally should get a lot of credit or condemnation depending on how you feel about the Sensei. For keeping Seagal firmly in the MMA consciousness because not only did he give him a platform he played along. In fact he thrived on Seagal’s promos, even though he clearly didn’t believe a word that Seagal said, judging on the fact that he couldn’t keep a stray face. But you can judge that for yourself. Anyway Seagal would make his first appearance on June 18th 2012, confirming that he would be in attendance for Anderson’s upcoming rematch with Chael slated for UFC 147 the following month. He also said that he had not only trained Anderson recently, but he had been working with him and Leo in the shadow so to speak for longer than we thought.
Steven Seagal:
“Well I was behind the scenes you know, doing stuff without wanting to be mentioned, but we had some kind of you know special moment. And you know Lyoto and Anderson wanted to mention me and did mention.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Speaking of Lyoto, Seagal would also react to his loss to Jones continuing his 180 on the 205 pound champ.
Steven Seagal:
“So I respect all of them. Umm what I said was I don’t think that his punches and his kicks landed while Jon is a very good wrestler, okay do i think he’s a good puncher or kicker, no not at all, is he a better fighter than Lyoto, no not even close.”
MMA On Point Extras:
We’d also hear his reaction to flyers calling him out like Nam Pham who Seagal evidently hadn’t heard of.
Steven Seagal:
“Never heard of them, yeah Nab Frank, Nam Phan, yeah American guy?”
Ariel Helwani:
“No he’s not American. People trying to discredit you, saying that you’re just sort of in it for the the fame and to take sort of what is Anderson’s spotlight. And say that you taught him these things does that bother you?”
Steven Seagal:
“And I don’t know, I don’t, I don’t know who this guy is and I don’t really care. I’ve been fighting all my life, maybe he’s a young guy and he doesn’t know about me, but I only started acting late in life. And you know, I put my life on the line many many many times in Asia. And you know, when you’re the only, you know semi-white boy there teaching the Japanese back in the day, there are many people who thought it was their duty to come and try to kill you.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Wait, semi-white boy? Am I missing something here? Anyways, he kept his promise showing up for the Anderson’s rematch and of his near-year absence from the UFC raised any suspicions that he was stepping back from the limelight. They quickly dissipated because here he had a starring role. At the open workouts, following a brief cameo from Brazilian Football and icon Ronaldo. Anderson invited his Sensei to the mat for a quick demonstration at Hafeel Feijo’s expense. He then, not so low-key boasted out of the Karen Bryant.
Karen Bryant:
“You look pretty good in there with Feijoa.”
Steven Seagal:
“Yeah, he said how many hands do you have?”
Karen Bryant:
“You slapped him pretty well, at one point do everything that crowd was like oh Stephen.”
Steven Seagal:
“Yeah, I just, you know, I mean he’s my brother, we’re all, you know, we play hard, we train hard, and uh that’s cool. If they can get it in on me they will.”
MMA On Point Extras:
But it wasn’t that interview which made the headlines, it was the one with his old friend Ariel which was strange, even by Seagal standards. It was as if Ariel pulled a TMZ or something and caught him coming out of a club, because he was barely paying attention.
Ariel Helwani:
“Are we able to talk to you or do you not want to talk to us, because you keep moving around hands-on….?”
Steven Seagal:
“Depends on what questions.”
MMA On Point Extras:
He eventually woke up, though especially when asked for a rebuttal to Sonnen’s jests which evidently had gotten under his skin. But I guess, it’s no wonder that Chael’s trash talk offended him, given that he’s not only a traditional martial artist, but a Buddhist.
Ariel Helwani:
“Anderson was looking for a way out on Tuesday, he was trying to get disqualified.”
Steven Seagal:
“Really, yeah, he’s dreaming, he’s hallucinating. I think that kind of is an embarrassment to the human race. It’s embarrassment, an embarrassment to the martial arts. And the martial arts should be a spiritual path and a philosophy at least.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Nevertheless, his nominal world view, particularly as far as humility is concerned, seems worldly at all with his own rhetoric as you’ve probably noticed.
Ariel Helwani:
“Are you not a Joe Rogan fan?”
Steven Seagal:
“I’m, I’m, I’m, I’m a fighter, I’ve fought all my life, you can listen to him and maybe he knows more than me…I don’t know?”
MMA On Point Extras:
And it would get worse trust me. Keep watching. Anyway, once Steven Seagal claimed that he had taught Anderson some new techniques before confirming that he wouldn’t be in the corner, but he had a personal messenger, so it didn’t really matter.
Ariel Helwani:
“I mentioned on the show when you’re on with us that you have taught him something that we’ve never seen before.”
Steve Seagal:
“About two or three things.”
Ariel Helwani:
“Two or three, give us a hand at least one.”
Steven Seagal:
“I really don’t want to, do i, don’t want to tip it because…”
Ariel Helwani:
“If you say it, how would people even know how to defend it?”
MMA On Point Extras:
The interview would then come to a fitting end when Seagal decided to take a phone call like the last time. But this time, he just like trailed off.
Ariel Helwani:
“That important. Yeah well there you have it.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Helwani would also get a chance to get Cung Li’s opinion of the grand master sensei and despite sharing martial arts roots he wasn’t too impressed.
Cung Li:
“I think the fighters from Anderson, Randy Couture to Chuck Liddell to all the guys who put in the work the sweat did all the work he came in and he took some credit from Anderson and…”
Ariel Helwani:
“He’s riding his coattails?”
Cung Li:
“I think so, i mean no disrespect, but I’m just speaking the truth in my mind and it wasn’t him because it’s MMA, so big it’s because of UFC because of Fertittas and Dana White and all the athletes, so that’s what I got to say.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Seagal would nevertheless accompany Silva to the weigh-ins where the infamous shoulder strike went down.
“And come to think of it, maybe that was just Anderson following his sensei’s orders.”
Steven Seagal:
“That’s exactly what I’ve been telling him. They said you know, you’re too nice in the past. I said on this fight, we’re not gonna be nice. We’re going to be really, really, really deep.”
MMA On Point Extras:
On fight they would then get a glimpse of what Seagal was teaching Anderson, but unfortunately none of the illegal stuff was on the syllabus that day. Funnily enough though Anderson would finish Chael and on first glance, it looked as though he landed an illegal knee. In the end with the right camera angle, it was as clean as a whistle. But what are the odds of Seagal taking credit for that DQ if it happened? Anyway, we didn’t get much from the Sensei post-fight, but we would still witness a legendary sit-down interview on The Voice versus with Michael Chavello. I’ll put it this way, if the interview with Ariel at UFC 140 was strange then, this one was a fever dream. He mercilessly trashed a plethora of his contemporaries.
Michael Chavello:
“Michael Jay White?”
Steven Seagal:
“Can I laugh in your face?”
Michael Chavelo:
“Really?”
Steven Seagal:
“Yes.”
Michael Cavello:
“Your thoughts on Jean-Claude Van Damme?”
Steven Seagal:
“Can I laugh in your face?”
Michael Chavello:
“Chuck Norris?”
Steven Seagal:
“I mean Chuck is in his mid 70s, maybe 76 years old?”
MMA On Point Extras:
Okay Tom you should really listen to this guy.
Steven Seagal:
“And the martial arts should be a spiritual path and a philosophy. At least where you respect everyone and you do it to teach yourself humility to become a better person.”
MMA On Point Extras:
He then told a bunch of blatant mistruths.
Steven Seagal:
“You know I wasn’t around Bruce much. He was the kind of guy who kind of would bad mouth most. A lot of the other martial artists and martial arts. He knew that I grew up in Asia and that I had a son that was half, just exactly the same age as Brandon. And when I met Brandon he had lighter hair and he said just my little Caucasian boy. You know.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Seagal does know that his eldest son was born in 1975 two years after Bruce’s death right? He then tried to explain the kick.
Steven Seagal:
“Everyone can say, oh it’s just to make it, it’s not just a mighty, what i tried to teach him and the Lyoto. You see most people when they do my Gedi they lift the leg and they kick sure. What I’m trying to teach people, to do without giving away any trade secrets. Is to kick, like this, so you don’t see it coming.”
MMA On Point Extras:
I don’t know about you, but I’m none the wiser. Oh and I’d be remiss to say that he was also armed to the teeth. Chevello revealed in his book that the Seagal arrived in an RPG proof armored SUV or a pimped out Pope mobile as he vividly described it, He was also apparently wearing a kevlar and brought a big bag of guns with him. Which is probably why this question was asked.
Michael Chavelo:
“Are you always armed?”
Steven Seagal:
“Yes.”
Steven Chavelo:
“Right now, if I was to look around this room, would I find an arm of some sort that you’ve brought with you?”
Steven Seagal:
“Yes.”
MMA On Point Extras:
That’s insane. Anyway, the goal with an extra tour into the MMA Hour and with no immediate fights on the horizon for his guys. He gave his take on some hypothetical super fights. Anderson versus Jones, Anderson versus GSP, and Seagal vs Coulture. The latter of which he accepted after Randy jokes and decided to come back, but only if Seagal was his opponent. Seagal for his part, stipulated that it would have to take place behind closed doors. With no witnesses. Go figure. He didn’t pick a winner between Anderson and Jones, but he did admit that Jones saw as would be an issue. He was decisive on Silva versus GSP though appointing that the spoiler would dominate. He would then call Saint Pierre’s performance versus Jake Shields atrocious. Using it as proof of the difference between him and Silva, by arguing that even in Anderson’s worst outings he still looked good unlike his welterweight counterpart. I guess he missed the Wiedman. He would then take it a step further saying that George was a good martial artist, but not a great one. Damn, it must have been awkward when they work together later on that Oscar winning movie cartels.
GSP:
“You will join your friend in a body bag!”
MMA On Point Extras:
Nevertheless, an appearance at the world MMA awards in January of 2013 was Seagal’s next port of call. Which was big for him given that he was snubbed for coach of the year. Still he offered his pick for fighter of the year. Skipping over an old foe and giving an answer you’d expect from a share duggar.
Steven Seagal:
“Wow that’s tough I think Daniel Cormier is a real strong candidate and Ronda Rousey, those are two great, kind, they’re all great candidates..”
MMA On Point Extras:
Considering both Cormier and Rousey were still Strike Force Fighters at the time that was very much a hipster pick. They’re on the one especially given her relationship with Gene LeBell. But maybe Seagal hadn’t internalized that, because he basically renounced their consideration later when LeBell was mentioned and instead went all in on Cormier.
Steven Seagal:
“I mean, I don’t know her from Adam, never met her, I’ve seen her a couple times and she looks good, you know. If I had to choose anybody today, I would probably pick Daniel Cormier because I think he’s the best, uh out of that one.”
MMA On Point Extras:
He did of course have an ulterior mouth.
Steven Seagal:
“I’m maybe going to be working with him a little bit, we’ll see he’s sort of a sleeper you know, absolutely I think that’s going to be really interesting.”
Interviewer:
“Now you brought up working with them, uh what’s that about?”
Steven Seagal:
“Well I’m not going to say any more than that. I just think that uh, I’ll just say he’s a friend of mine.”
Interviewer:
“That’s okay.”
MMA On Point Extras:
That’s right, Seagal was caught with DC which leaves us with the question. Why him, well? With Strikeforce’s final events scheduled for the following day January 12th. DC was about to become a UFC fighter, but what’s more is that he and Seagal had a mutual enemy Jon Jones. You see while we were two years away from their eventual fight Jones and Cormier actually had a brief confrontation at UFC 148 and had been squabbling ever since. And as a quick aside for those conspiratorially inclined. Note that UFC 148 was Silva versus Sonnen 2. That’s where Cormier first met Seagal. Which begs the question, was the sensei doing some baron zemo [ __ ] orchestrating rivalries and pulling strings for his own gain. I don’t know, but look into it. We nevertheless wouldn’t get to see the next act of that story until 2015. But over the course of the subsequent few months we would witness the conclusion of the Seagull Silva partnership right as a surging New Yorker shook up the MMA world. With Anderson’s next title defense set against Chris Weidman at UFC 162. Seagal as customary would stop into the MMA Hour pre-fight. He gave Weidman some credit, but said that Anderson had already faced better competition, but we all know what happened next. Weidman crushed Silva with a left hook becoming the first middleweight champion since Anderson beat Rich Franklin in 2006. Interestingly though, there was no sign of Seagal in Anderson’s entourage all week. He would incidentally be photographed at the event, but only as a spectator and seated beside Mike Tyson of all people. Then a couple of months later, when talking about the rematch with Weidman. Anderson would joke about not only bringing Seagal back into the fold, but Chuck Norris too. He then finally admitted that Seagal never really coached them.
Anderson Silva:
“This Steve, is good man, there’s no, no, no, coach, no, train me, but it’s good man.”
MMA On Point Extras:
A few weeks later Silva would appear on the MMA Hour Seagal’s home turf and double down saying Stevie is not his coach, but his friend. Damning footage of Anderson’s teammate Andre Galvao impersonating Seagal, much to everybody’s amusement including Silva, would soon pop up online. And while it wouldn’t find its viral peak until years later. I mean Galvano recently posted on his Instagram last year. It didn’t get past those really invested like Ariel. A yeah, needless to say, the jig was up. And just like the firth Silva Weidman fight, Seagal wouldn’t be with Anderson for the rematch. Although this time, he didn’t even attend to see Anderson horrifically break his leg, as far as I could tell. He would then remain under the MMA radar for the next year or so, only making one other appearance at events. But he would have one last hurrah. Days out from his first challenge against Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier revealed that he was finally taking the Sensei upon that offer.
Daniel Cormier:
“I received a text message on our plans that got backed up. I was supposed to train with Master since Master Seagal tonight and he said that he’s got some stuff he wants to show me, that he believes will work against Jon Jones, so he’s gonna come and meet my parents and uh then we’re gonna go and train a little bit.”
MMA On Point Extras:
It was a match made in heaven, Jones’s two greatest rivals. And when they met up, the embedded crew were on the scene to capture everything. But alas Seagal demanded privacy and as a result we never got to see that lesson. But at least Luke Rockhold gave us some insight into what went down.
Luke Rockhold:
“Seagal actually, uh almost broke my wrist one time.”
Interviewer:
“No way, how?”
Luke Rockhold:
“They gave me and DC a little private seminar in the back. And in Vegas one time. You all showed me this little death touch you know, put me. put me in uh, put me on notice.”
MMA On Point Extras:
Regardless, the session wouldn’t lead Cormier to victory, as he lost a competitive, but clear decision. Seagal would then put a cap on his time in mainstream MMA, in the only way that seemed appropriate. One last appearance on The MMA Hour. It was a special one too, episode 300 and he closed the show. The conversation however didn’t cause much of a story. Much of it actually centered around his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would give Seagal citizenship in 2016. And it was in Russia that Seagal continued his MMA exploits, most notably heading up a promotion called Zara Fight Show. Which incidentally had links to the Russia Trump Scandal in 2016 too. It’s also been alleged that Putin as well as Ramzan Khadirov, the MMA loving Chechen dictator, are using Seagal as a pawn in their sport, washing efforts. But hey, at least they produced this clip,
News Anchor:
“The Chechen Dance!”
MMA On Point Extras:
And that was The Story of Steven Seagal in MMA. Which for me was the tale of a fighter struggling to connect with his fan base looking for a quick fix in an enigmatic celebrity. The issue though was said celebrity had an ego unfair for so long that he started to believe in his own grift. And honestly, I still think that he does. A big shout out to the legendary duo Lawton Vercant and Tom Ransom for editing this video. You can follow them at @LawtonVercount and @TomARandsom on Twitter. And thanks to you for watching. Make sure you like the video and subscribe to the channel. I will be back for more of these deep dives into some of the MMA’s more fascinating and oftentimes bizarre stories. But until then, you can follow me on Twitter at the @RobertPalin.
