Two kung fu ‘masters’ demolished by Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong battle each other
- Lei Lei and Tian Ye go at it to decide who the better kung fu fighter is
- Both men were previously pulverised by ‘Mad Dog’ on his mission to expose ‘kung fu fakery’
It was probably inevitable that two of Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong’s vanquished “fake kung fu” opponents would eventually square off against each other. But that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.
In what turned out to be a fairly one-sided battle, Lei Lei and Tian Ye recently went at it to see who was the better kung fu fighter.
The video of that 2017 fight went viral and set Xu on his mission to “expose” traditional martial arts “frauds”, sparking this entire mess of kung fu versus MMA.
When it came to his two vanquished foes squaring off, Xu predicted Lei Lei would win because he has more power in his punches, despite admitting Tian Ye has plenty of heart.
It turned out Xu’s prediction was bang on the money.
The two men came out of the gate throwing haymakers and Tian Ye – much older than his opponent at 56, with Lei Lei in his 40s – got knocked down after just seven seconds of the first round.
Tian Ye got back to his feet, and Lei Lei – his nose bloodied – started throwing some knees from the clinch, showing he has actually been training some real techniques since his humiliation by Xu.
Lei Lei then sent Tian Ye stumbling again, this time into the referee, who did a standing count as he instructed Lei Lei back to his corner. After getting the doctor to clean up Lei Lei’s nose, the referee resumed the fight.
It didn’t last much longer. Lei Lei staggered Tian Ye with a few more punches and the referee stepped in to wave it off after a total of 64 seconds.
Tian Ye pleaded with the referee, saying he could still fight, despite stumbling backwards as Lei Lei cockily strutted around the ring, celebrating his victory.
Lei Lei’s bravado seemed to get to Tian Ye – either that or he really was badly concussed and thought the fight was still on.
With the bell having long gone, Tian Ye launched another punch at his opponent before the referee grabbed him and pushed him into the ropes.
The referee delivered a stern lecture like a teacher to a schoolchild, finger wagging and all.
“The ref was probably the best fighter in that ring judging by how he was able to completely shut down Tian Ye with that clinch towards the end … And I'm only half joking here,” wrote one user in the comments of a video of the fight, which was posted by YouTube channel Fight Commentary Breakdowns.
“I think Lei Lei showed at least some improvement, but he still has a long way to go,” was another comment.
“Lei Lei is so cocky now,” wrote another user. “I’m sure he will take his revenge on Xu one day … Maybe … Probably not. But it would be very cool!”
