UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida were working out and determined to recreate one of the classic fight scenes in cinematic history.

There have been a number of tremendous martial arts fight scenes in cinematic history. Our favorites include:
James Cagney vs. John Halloran in Blood on the Sun (1945)
Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris in Way of the Dragon (1972)
Keanu Reeves vs. Hugo Weaving in The Matrix (1999)
Michelle Yeoh vs. Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Tony Jaa vs. the entire population of Thailand in Ong Bak 2 (2008)
Iko Uwais vs. Cecep Arif Rayman & Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man in The Raid 2 (2014)

However, on a lark, Machida and Werdum chose to recreate 1994’s Ralph Macchio vs. William Zabka finale.

For the record, our favorite is still Blood on the Sun. Halloran, a former member of the LAPD, was in reality Cagney’s friend and Judo instructor. The fight was to prove influential in the inclusion of martial arts in movies, and in widening interest in martial arts generally.

But, yah, there is a soft spot in our heart too for The Karate Kid. It had “Get him a body bag,” “finish him Johnny,” and “no mercy,” all in ten seconds. That’s pretty cool.

It’s nice to see UFC greats think so too.