Jean Claude Van Damme Reveals Where He Stands With Rival Steven Seagal Today

Jean-Claude Van Damme, 63, has buried the hatchet with his long-time rival Steven Seagal, 71, according to a new interview in The Daily Mail. The two martial arts action stars, who made their names chasing Schwarzenegger’s tail and shared a peak-era spanning the late ‘80s into the ‘90s, have waged a bitter feud for decades.

It began when Seagal questioned Van Damme’s fighting credentials in a 1991 interview. During a party at Sylvester Stallone’s house, Van Damme confronted Seagal about his remarks and challenged the Under Siege star to a fight. Seagal refused that challenge, as well as a proposed $20 million showdown between the two in Las Vegas.

In the interview, published on Sunday, Van-Damme shrugged off any bad blood between himself and Seagal.

“I have no problem with Steven,” the Bloodsport actor said. “When you're young you want to be the macho man. If I saw him today, I'd have no problem.”

In an interview with The Telegraph last week, Van Damme nevertheless seemed to diss Seagal. "The first movie I saw of his, I said, ‘This guy’s going to make it, he’s very charismatic,'" he recalled, but proceeded to take a present-day jab: "Even now, with his overweight years, he’s got this Steven Seagal way of talking."

"If him and I fight, I run faster than him—much faster," Van Damme continued. "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."

Van Damme also revealed to The Daily Mail that he’s currently working on “my last martial arts movie,” entitled Battleground, which he described as “Bloodsport meets the dark web.” That sounds like the perfect opportunity for him and Seagal to finally go mano a mano.