The article is part of a larger effort to understand what really works, not by looking at MMA events, but by observing the application of martial arts outside the arena – in gyms, on the streets, at the door, etc. Check out more stories from MixedMartialArts.com on:
•Martial Arts on The Street
•Dojo Storms
•Informal Fights
Former UFC featherweight Nam Phan was at his Madu Academy in Garden Grove, California, when a Hong Gia Kung Fu master named Khai Tran entered the MMA gym, and said he wanted to become a professional MMA fighter. The master’s thinking was he would get a professional fight, impress UFC president Dana White, become a champion, and become a millionaire.
Nam is a highly trained martial artist; the proud Vietnamese American holds black belts in karate, judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Viet Quyen Dao. The last one is a Vietnamese martial art that draws from Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Aikido. Phan has also had 12 professional boxing matches, 38 pro MMA fights, and is the former Featherweight King of Pancrase.
Coach Nam explained that in order to become an MMA fighter, Khai would need to get some sparring in. Khai apparently misinterpreted this as a challenge, and not for what it actually was – a request to do actual MMA training before doing MMA. The two went back and forth and agreed to a ‘sparring’ match with some stipulations.
At the request of Master Tran, the rules of the challenge were stand-up only (no takedowns), with two-minute rounds and one-minute rest periods. Khai claimed that gloves would slow down his movements, so Nam agreed to allow the Kung Fu instructor to go bare-knuckle, while Nam would use MMA gloves over a wrapped hand. Khai wanted the fight to be no rules, but also requested there be no grappling at all, a contradiction.
It happened on Saturday, March 21, 2019. Phan was then 36, and Master Tran was 50. Check out the videos to see how the fight went down.
Clearer view with better lighting:
And a third view:
While Master Tran obviously didn’t win, neither was he utterly self-deluded, as is so often the case in these informal challenge fights from traditional Kung Fu masters. Tran followed the agreed-upon rules, fought gamely, did not look hopeless, and hopefully learned something useful from the experience. That is to say, after he woke up, hopefully, he woke up.
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