A long-simmering fueled boiled over this weekend between action star Jean-Claude Van Damme and former Power Ranger Jason David Frank, with the two involved in an altercation at La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City.
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Footage of the fight posted by the Blast shows Van Damme and Frank in a heated exchange in which the two come face to face. But the video cuts out after some terse words, though the report indicates that Frank locked Van Damme in a headlock against the wall.
The tensions have been building for over 20 years, reportedly stemming back to the premiere of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995 during which Van Damme reportedly blew Frank off. Frank held onto the grudge and challenged Van Damme to an MMA fight in 2010, but nothing came of it.
Apparently, Van Damme has been holding his own grudge since these events.
As reported by the Blast, the former Power Ranger was surprised when he was asked to share his green room with Van Damme and his camp, which Frank said rolled 20 people deep. Despite the grudge, he accepted the offer.
Then, after Van Damme’s handler asked for a photo op with Frank, the exchange devolved to the point where the actors had to be physically separated.
As Frank tells the Blast, he thinks it was a setup by Van Damme to ambush him and demand an apology for the MMA challenge in 2010. But Frank wouldn’t back down and went so far as to namedrop Chuck Zito, the actor who famously told a story about beating Van Damme up in the ’90s.
As the report states, Frank and Van Damme agreed to an MMA-style brawl but Van Damme froze up once Frank put him in a headlock. The two yelled at each other some more before security stepped in and separated the two.
While video of the build up to the incident has been released, it doesn’t appear to show any blows being thrown. Van Damme’s camp has yet to make a statement, either. But Frank was eager to get his version of the events out into the public, as evidenced by his social media posts.
Van Damme’s latest project, the Amazon series Jean-Claude Van Johnson, is set to debut in December, while Frank recently had a cameo in the Power Rangers movie.
