Bruce Lee in MMA? He would’ve loved to guide fighters and spar with them, says daughter Shannon Lee
- Shannon Lee, who releases new book ‘Be Water, My Friend’, responds to UFC president Dana White’s assertion her dad is ‘the grandfather of MMA’
- ‘I’m sure he would’ve loved to train with these athletes and trade ideas,’ she says
Fight fans and fighters themselves have long pondered the question – would Bruce Lee have competed in mixed martial arts had the stars aligned? And how good would he have been?
The Hong Kong martial arts icon died, aged 32, from a brain oedema in his home city on July 20, 1973, at the height of his superstardom. But his jeet kune do philosophy – which encouraged taking aspects of different fighting styles and moulding them into the unique blend that improved you as a martial artist and a person – is often credited as the beginnings of what would become the sport of MMA in November 1993 at UFC 1.
Sadly, supporters have had to make do with playing as Lee on video games like EA Sports’ latest offering, UFC 4, against modern day superstars like Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal.
The Enter the Dragon and Fist of Fury star would obviously have been too old to compete when MMA started taking off, but his daughter feels he would certainly be involved in some capacity were he alive today.
“He would absolutely love to watch it,” Shannon Lee told SCMP MMA ahead of the release of her new book, Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee, on October 6. “M y father was a fight fan. He would have loved it.