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The 50-year-old star has a lifetime of connections to the fight world, both as a fan and as an actor who trains in martial arts.
Recently, Jennifer Lopez stirred up controversy during the Super Bowl halftime show. One of America’s sexier 50 year olds, J.Lo has a long history as a fight fan. Here are fun facts about the triple threat:
1. Back in 2002, Lopez starred in Enough. The thriller follows a woman named Slim—which feels like an odd nickname for a woman famous for her curves—who is in an abusive relationship. She leaves, but the threat only increases, leading her to take up martial arts and train until she can beat the crap out of her ex. Initially, Lopez thought she would prepare with tae kwon do, but ultimately went with Krav Maga. (Although later on in life Lopez settled upon boxing as her personal martial art of choice.) If you enjoy so-bad-they’re-good movies, this one is worth a watch.
2. J.Lo promotes the bejeezus out of UFC Gyms. Her fiance, Alex Rodriquez, owns a UFC Gym in Miami, so it makes sense she would have a vested interest in its success. However, she also makes a point of visiting UFC Gyms in New York and elsewhere, often posting videos of boxing workouts.
3. Speaking of Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco wants to fight him. In this era of celebrity boxing it almost feels possible, but unfortunately A Rod has way too much money for that crap. Upon learning of Lopez and Rodriquez’s engagement, Canseco did what any rational D-list celebrity would do, and promptly issued a series of Tweets accusing Rodriquez of cheating on Lopez with Canseco’s ex-wife, Jessica. He then challenged the Yankee great to “a boxing match or an MMA match.” Why not both and do a best of three?
4. J.Lo worked with Muhammed Ali to raise funds for Parkinson’s research. Who says no to The Greatest? A longtime fight fan, Lopez signed on to be a part of the effort. Ali chose to honor Lopez with an award for her work at his Celebrity Fight Night. Lopez is heavily involved in many different fundraising efforts, primarily centered around residents of NYC, Puerto Rico, and at risk women and children.
5. Lopez shared photos of a black eye she earned while performing, with the hashtag #imafightertoo. Naturally, it was assumed the black eye occurred as she portrayed a New York detective on the NBC drama Shades of Blue. While Lopez did utilize martial arts training for the role, the injury occurred while she was recording a song. Singing while lying on her back, the microphone fell and hit her in the eye. Seth Meyers cleared up the confusion, saying the black eye happened “in the laziest way possible.”
6. UFC 202 played a prominent role in her personal life. Lopez was expecting her then boyfriend Casper Smart to attend her charity event in the Hamptons. J.Lo took a look at Twitter and saw Smart posting photos of himself with Bruce Buffer. Unlike Smart, Lopez is no dummy, and quickly deduced her boyfriend was in Las Vegas to see Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 2, and that was the end of that. She didn’t hold it against the Irishman, however, attending McGregor vs. Mayweather with A Rod.