Jean-Claude Van Damme Says Steven Seagal Once Turned Down $20M Offer to Fight Him

“I run faster than him – much faster,” he said. “I would run away. He’s going to try to catch me, he’s going to get out of shape"

Jean-Claude Van Damme says Steven Seagal once turned down a hefty sum of money to fight him.

As martial artist and actor Van Damme, 63, recently spoke with the U.K.'s The Telegraph about his career and long-running feud with Seagal, 71, Van Damme recalled that film producer and executive Peter Guber once wanted to promote a fight between Van Damme and Seagal, who have publicly feuded with each other dating back to the 1990s.

“They were having an idea to have a fight between me and Steven at The Mirage [in Las Vegas],” Van Damme told the outlet. “Twenty million each. He didn’t take the fight."

A representative for Seagal did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Related: John Leguizamo Based His 'Washed-Up' Action-Star Character in 'The Menu' on Steven Seagal

Van Damme, who was promoting his new Irish whiskey brand Old Oak, spoke to his long-standing feud with Seagal multiple times in the interview. The outlet reported that the feud grew out of claims Seagal made in the early 1990s that "doubted Van Damme’s legitimate fighting credentials."

“Kids’ stuff, kids’ stuff,” Van Damme said, when asked of a Sylvester Stallone claim that Seagal turned down an opportunity to fight in 1997 at a Stallone-hosted party. “People told me [Seagal] doesn’t speak so nice about me. I don’t know why.”

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Van Damme, who made his breakout with 1988's Bloodsport and most recently appeared as a voice actor in 2022's Minions: Rise of Gru, also gave some props to Seagal, who last made a movie in 2019.

Related: Charlize Theron Says 'Overweight' Steven Seagal 'Can Barely Fight': 'He's Not Very Nice to Women'

“The first movie I saw of his, I said, ‘This guy’s going to make it, he’s very charismatic.’” he said of Seagal. “Even now, with his overweight years, he’s got this Steven Seagal way of talking.”

However, elsewhere during Van Damme's sitdown with The Independent, he did offer a rough idea of how he would approach fighting Seagal if the opportunity ever came.

“If him and I fight, I run faster than him – much faster,” he told the outlet. “I would run away. He’s going to try to catch me, he’s going to get out of shape. I come back and fight. Do you like the technique?”

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