Ramsey Dewey
Dec 19, 2019
This last week I had a chance to sit down with Yi Long 一龙 at the Animal MMA gym in Shanghai, China thanks to Kyle Rozewski for setting this up and thanks to Kevin Yu for being the interpreter. Apologies for the background noise- This interview was set up on short notice, as Yi Long was at the gym scouting out fighters for an upcoming kickboxing and MMA event he’s promoting.
Yi Long is a famous Chinese martial artist, kickboxer, kungfu practitioner, actor, and fight promoter. He’s most well known for his Shaolin style kungfu, but Yi Long is also a Wing Chun expert, being the 2008 champion of the Guandong Foshan International Yong Chun (Wing Chun) Boxing Competition.
With an extensive professional kickboxing career behind him, Yi Long holds 5 world title belts- having competed in K1, WLF, Kunlun Fight, and many other top kickboxing promotions. Yi Long has fought a who’s who list of some of the world’s greatest kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters.
He has appeared in movies such as Captain America: Civil War, Tattoo, Chinese Peacekeeping Forces, the TV series Invincible Tie Qiao San, and has an inner of upcoming film projects in the works that we discussed.
In this interview, we talked about The role of traditional Chinese martial arts in modern combat sports, Yi Long’s famous rivalry with Buakaw Banchamek and the possibility of a third fight, and what it's like acting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and how Yi Long totally needs a part in Marvel’s upcoming “Shang Chi, Master of Kungfu”)
Yi Long addresses the internet rumor of an alleged fight with the notorious Xu Xiaodong. He reveals what it was like fighting the giant Hong Man Choi. We find out how Yi Long really feels about Dana White. And Yi Long offers advice to young fighters looking for a long and prosperous career in combat sports, and what to do after retirement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sd82aK0x58