Steven Seagal Then and Now: The Martial Arts Star Defeated 3 UFC Champions

Steven Seagal (American) is a master of Aikido, a Japanese martial art. Thanks to this talent, he has become a famous Hollywood actor, martial artist, and film producer.

The victories in the competitions with 3 UFC Champions

Actor Steven Seagal is best known for his martial arts action movies such as Above the Law, Hard to Kill, The Glimmer Man, and so on. His movies mainly mention the issue of spiritual elements with fearful violence scenes.

With true martial arts talent, many fighters have found Steven to learn the skills of powerful manual attacks. They include Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, who are 3 UFC champions of different weight classes.

UFC champion Lyoto Machida (left) and Steven Seagal

When confronting with Steven Seagal, all three of the fighters were unable to win. Steven’s sharp, fast, powerful attacks made the fighters unable to avoid. These were convincing wins of Steven. Although the victories in the competitions with 3 UFC champions were not official matches, everyone had to respect the talent of Seagal.

The background of Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal was born on April 10, 1952, in Lansing, Michigan (USA). His father was a Jewish math teacher and his mother was an Irish physician. Steven Seagal then and now has been an American producer, actor, screenwriter, musician, fighter, and director. 

He started learning Karate and Aikido when he was 7 years old. At 13, he lied to his age to get a job of washing dishes in a restaurant. A Japanese chef there taught him the basics of Karate.

At 17, he left the United States to Japan to live. He used the income of teaching English to learn martial arts there. Steven in turn achieved black belts in the martial arts Aikido, Karate, Judo, and Kendo.

With the spirit of Japanese fighters, Steven was very interested in religion and philosophy of the East. He became a Buddhist man from acupuncture and lessons from Aikido: “Knowing the opponent’s weaknesses to win but don’t use those to harm them. Knowing how to behave morally not only with humans but with all beings on the earth.”

Turning to Hollywood acting career

After 15 years in many countries in Asia, Steven Seagal returned to the United States. He opened a martial arts academy. Steven also worked as a bodyguard for famous stars. Among Steven’s clients, there was Michael Ovitz, a Hollywood tycoon. It was Ovitz that helped Seagal sign a martial arts movie contract with Warner Bros.

Even in his debut film Above the Law (1988), in collaboration with director Andrew Davis, Steven found the position of an action star. The next movie, Hard to Kill (1989), was a terrible act of violence. He played the role of a policeman who woke up after a deep sleep and took revenge on those who harmed him. The year 1992 was Seagal’s peak with the movie Under Siege. In 1994, he began to try as a director with On Deadly Ground. He continued penetrating deeper into the entertainment world while contributing to film production.

In those films, Steven always played the role of a true hero. He fought dozens of crooks alone and won perfectly by hand-to-hand attack skills.

Watching action movies with Steven Seagal, the audience felt that no one could use manual attacks better than him.

The personal life of Steven Seagal then and now

In addition, Steven Seagal was also very passionate about music. Steven loved the rasta so much that he did not hesitate to go to Jamaica to learn about it. In 2005, he released a music album titled “Songs from the Crystal Cave”. A year later, he went on to release his second album “Mojo priest”. But the most famous single was the single “Girl, it’s Alright” released worldwide. In his house, he has an impressive collection of guitar and swords.

Furthermore, Steven Seagal was particularly interested in Eastern religion and philosophy. He spent hours reciting the Buddha’s teachings, studying Buddhist teachings, and following a strict vegetarian diet.

Moreover, this star also actively participated in charitable activities. He had helped Tibetan monks suffer from nutritional illness, raised money for children, and save animals.

In terms of his private life, Steven Seagal experienced four marriages with:

1. Miyako Fujitani, the instructor of Aikido (1975 – 1986)
2. Adrienne Larussa (1984 – 1987)
3. Kelly LeBrock (1987 – 1996) 
4. Erdenetuya Batsukh (2009).

The martial arts star has a total of 7 children. Two of the children with his first wife including Kentaro Seagal and Ayako Fujitani pursued the art path.

Steven Seagal and Erdenetuya Batsukh (the 4th wife)

Related: The transformation of Steven Seagal Then and Now

Read more about: Jean-Claude Van Damme Then and Now: From a Fighter to a Movie Superstar