When Michael Jai White stated why Jean Claude Van Damme would have an edge in a real fight against Steven Seagal while discussing their beef

Action star and martial artist Michael Jai White once discussed the beef between Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme, which originated in the 1990s when they were two of the most bankable action stars in Hollywood. Jai White has worked on films and fighting scenes with both and provided his honest assessment of who would have an edge in a real fight.

Seagal and Van Damme's beef is well-documented and reached its boiling point in the late 90s after 'JCVD' took offense to being disrespected as a martial artist. He reportedly challenged the Aikido master to a fight when they were guests at Sylvester Stallone's house party, but the 'Hard to Kill' star declined and left. They have since traded jibes, with the 72-year-old claiming that the 'Muscles from Brussels' isn't a martial artist.

While speaking to VladTV this past February, the karate black belt disclosed that the Aikido master has never competed in another martial artist competition. Based on their respective backgrounds, he claimed Van Damme would edge out Seagal in a real fight:

"I think Steven Seagal really knows that there's never gonna be...instance where [he and Van Damme] are gonna face each other...When would be the instance when somebody is trying to kick the sh*t out of Steven Seagal?...If that ever happened, we would know who that person would be...[Seagal has] never had to block a punch intended to knock his a** out. Van Damme has." [3:10 - 4:25]

Check out Michael Jai White's comments below (3:10 - 4:25):

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Michael Jai White lavishes praise on Jean Claude Van Damme for his act of kindness

Michael Jai White lavished praise on Jean Claude Van Damme for his kindness while filming their fight scene in 'Universal Soldier: The Return'.

The action star mentioned that they had been filming their big fight scene in a cold location and that Van Damme went out of his way to make him more comfortable in between takes. Jai White said during the aforementioned interview this past February:

"[Van Damme] looked out for me on that set like you would not believe. I was freezing...He would give me his coat between shots because I was in short sleeves and you know, he would insist I wear his coat and he had a long sleeve shirt underneath. That's who he is. I'm always gonna fight for that guy, but he's a really nice person." [5:46 - 6:12]

Check out the official trailer for 'Universal Soldier: The Return' featuring Michael Jai White and Jean Claude Van Damme below: