Channing Tatum has opened up about his love for mixed martial arts and his friendship with former UFC fighter Cung Le, whom he met while filming Fighting in 2009.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Tatum recalled being amazed by Le’s fighting style. “Cung’s hilarious. I love him,” Tatum said. “He was doing moves you’d only see in video games. Even back in Strikeforce, he was pulling off things straight out of Tekken.”
Tatum said his passion for combat sports started in high school. “We used to pass around tapes of the early UFC days,” he remembered. “The tape would literally just go around the entire school.”
Le, a former Strikeforce and Sanda champion, was known for his spectacular knockout power and flashy techniques. He also portrayed ‘Marshall Law’ in the 2010 Tekken movie — a fitting role for a fighter whose real-life skills looked like something from the game itself.
