The first episode of a 14-part, online miniseries brought to us by the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts toy company Round 5 titled, The Bruce Lee Story: As Told by You, aired today on the collectbrucelee.com website.
The series focuses on today’s MMA fighters’ thoughts on Bruce Lee and what he’s done for and means to the sport of mixed martial arts in a live, interview-style setting.
Today’s episode featured former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.
“Bruce Lee is a legend,” said Mir.
He went on to say, “For a guy who passed away at 32 years of age to have such an impact still, 40 years later—every martial artist in some way has some kind of influence in their life [because of him]. I don’t know what more you could say about a human being.”
Torres admits to idolizing Lee to the point that he emulated his every move.
“I wanted to emulate him, in everything I did. And my pursuit of martial arts is because of Bruce Lee,” said Torres.
He also said, “Now that I’m actually a mixed martial artist and I fight for a living, I look at him as the first true mixed martial artist.
“He was an innovator. Before he died he was actually grappling with Gene LeBell and he was learning wrestling.”
It’s about time Lee is gaining the proper notoriety for his pioneering philosophy and technique that has become the foundation of MMA.
Of course, Lee has always been credited for being the godfather of mixed martial arts amongst martial artists, knowledgeable fans and certain members of the media, but it’s only now that he’s being brought to the forefront of the MMA community.
This is truly a great thing for Damon Lau and the folks at Round 5 to present to the MMA world.
If Lee were alive today, I think he would be very proud at what he’s helped to create.
Some have wondered how he would compare to today’s fighters.
Frank Mir said, “The fact that he was so innovative back…you know, 40 years ago, who knows what we’d be seeing now.
“Basically, you have certain people out there with a mindset that are really just [so] ahead of the curve that, sometimes we ourselves don’t understand.”
The lack of understanding—what he knows that the rest of us don’t—is what has helped to make Lee a legend, even before his untimely death.
During today’s episode, the question was asked, “If Bruce Lee were alive today, what would you tell him?”
“I wouldn’t speak at all,” said Mir. “I’d just want to hear him talk.”
Torres said he would simply say, “Thank you. Thank you for starting all of this. Everything he did put me in the mindset I’m at right now.”
What would you ask Bruce Lee if he were alive today?
Make sure to watch Episode 2, which airs on May 31, 2011 on collectbrucelee.com, and check back with Bleacher Report MMA for coverage on the rest of the series.
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