"He's full of ego" - Fabricio Werdum shares story of Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking a fellow actor on the set of Kickboxer: Retaliation

Fabricio Werdum speaks about Jean-Claude Van Damme [Werdum image courtesy - PodCast Inteligência Ltda.; Movie poster courtesy - @CartelHQ via Twitter; Van Damme image courtesy - @JCVD via Twitter]

Fabricio Werdum feels that despite being immensely talented, Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has a massive ego. The former UFC heavyweight champion shared a story about Van Damme from the set of the 2018 action flick Kickboxer: Retaliation that could leave some of you surprised.

Kickboxer: Retaliation is the seventh movie in the popular Kickboxer film series and featured Van Damme in the role of Master Durand. The movie also featured Werdum as a fellow inmate of the protagonist Kurt Sloane.

BTS from Kickboxer: Retaliation featuring Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, Mike Tyson & Ronaldinho. (Via Reddit MMA) https://t.co/2mURg7R7li

During a recent appearance on the Inteligencia Ltda. podcast, Fabricio Werdum accused Van Damme of intentionally kicking a fellow actor on the set of the movie. According to Werdum, despite knowing how to avoid hitting his fellow actor, Van Damme ended up landing a full-fledged front kick on the guy, injuring him badly:

"There was a scene where I was helping Van Damme to train this boy. I was Van Damme's sidekick. There was a scene where we had to blindfold the guy. It was a real blindfold, it really covered the eyes and he'd have to fight blindfolded, right? Van Damme kicked this boy in the belly [so hard] that you have no idea. It passed through the boy. He kicked. I was right next to him. I know when it's real and when it's not... He slashed through the boy with the shoe. The boy cringed and started to sweat, bro. He was sweating cold, he started to sweat... He's a nice guy, kind of grumpy but he's full of ego. Full of ego." [Translation courtesy - Brazilian MMA Legends]

Watch Werdum talking about the incident below:

Fabricio Werdum reveals how he'd respond if Jean-Claude Van Damme intentionally kicked him

Fabricio Werdum respects Van Damme's kicking technique and skillset as a martial artist but doesn't condone his decision to intentionally hurt a fellow actor during the shoot. The 44-year-old Brazilian stated that had the actor kicked him during the shoot, he would've "knocked him out" right then and there:

"I was already thinking, if had he done that to me I would have just knocked Van Damme out right there... I thought, 'If he does this to me, I'll step on his head.'"

It has been a year since Werdum last entered the cage to compete in a professional MMA bout. The former UFC heavyweight champ fought Renan Ferreira at PFL 3 back in May last year. Ferreira was initially declared the winner via TKO in the first round but the fight was later turned into a no contest.

It was determined that before stopping the 44-year-old, Ferreira had already tapped out to a triangle choke by Werdum.

Before his finish against Fabricio Werdum, Renan Ferreira appeared to tap Werdum twice on the shoulder. #2021PFL3 https://t.co/1M5ktz4xX4