Green Power Ranger Jason David Frank

[MasterKiller]

A few years ago actor Jason David Frank was used to hearing the familiar sound of fans yelling, "Go, go Power Rangers!" but now he's ready to hear the roar of a different crowd.

The former action star from the hit series "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" has officially made the move to mixed martial arts, and while training with UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard, he hopes to make his real fighting experience as successful as he did on television.

Frank signed on with Suckerpunch Entertainment recently and hopes to make his professional debut in the very near future.

"I was supposed to fight in 2007, but it fell through. In truth, I’ve wanted to put the work in until I’m ready," Frank said in an interview from the Suckerpunch website. "I know I have a target on my back. Everyone is going to want to beat up the Green Ranger. But I am no Kimbo; I’ve been training for a very long time. I wanted to get in there before, but I got injured. But I’ll be ready when the time comes."

The actor-turned-fighter is adding a ground game to what he believes is already an impressive stand-up resume, but he knows it's a long road to not only becoming a mixed martial artist, but a successful mixed martial artist.

"My style was missing the ground fighting. I have my blue belt in BJJ from Gracie Baja now, but we needed to have that ground game integrated into Tose Kune Do. There was a blank there. So we added wrestling, BJJ, etc., to it," Frank said. "Melvin Guillard has really helped add the wrestling. I needed to get with someone who could put it all together for me, and that was Saul Soliz. And he’s done it. He’s a good, hardcore trainer."

Proud of his time as the Green Ranger on the popular television show, Frank is ready to move onto new goals, and he hopes to conquer MMA the same way he did television.

"Just to go out there and do my best, and prove that I’m a real fighter," Frank said about his goals in MMA. "I’m not looking for any titles specifically. Ultimately, I want to give my fans something to watch and be proud of."

[Lucas]

i hope he fights in his power ranger suit. minus the helmet of course.

at least if he wins his opponent can always say: "well it was a power ranger after all"

[GeneChing]

Mighty Morphin MMA.

"It's Morphin Time!!!"
August 13, 12:29 AM San Jose MMA Examiner Phil Lanides

Jason David Frank is well-known to kids and pop culture fans as the longest-tenured Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. Many young MMA fans grew up watching him as one of the Power Rangers, and most have uttered the phrase, “It’s Morphin time!” at one point or another. But Jason’s martial arts skills go beyond stunt doubles and dummies; he’s been training martial arts very seriously since he was 12 years old. He’s even created his own form of combat fighting, called Tose Kune Do. Now 37 years old, Jason has decided to step into the world of MMA.
Training at renowned MMA trainer Saul Soliz’s camp, Metro Fight Club, as well at his own gym, Rising Sun Karate, Jason’s main training partner is the UFC’s Melvin Guillard, who has helped to transition his martial arts game to MMA. He’s also been training with Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis in anticipation of his debut in mixed martial arts. I recently spoke with Jason to find out about his feelings on his past with the Rangers, and his move to MMA.

Phil Lanides: Does your experience with the show help or hurt you?
Jason David Frank: As many fans as I have right now, if you look at the demographics of 18-34, which is the MMA demographic, I have that fan base from there. Looking at my age, a short-term career will be good for me because I will be able to give my fans what they want. I went to an anime convention recently, and they were asking me about fighting. They were all over 18 years-old. So I think there will be a lot of interest in my entrance into the sport. As long as the fights look good, I think it’ll be great.

PL: Tose Kune Do (The Way of the Fighting Fists) is your own style of fighting. Tell us about that.
JDF: I modified and adjusted [disarming] gun techniques. People don’t hold guns like they used to on the streets, so I took different moves, got away from the politics of martial arts, and came up with Tose Kune Do. We’re very serious at my gym; you have to earn your belt at my school. Bruce Lee, who created Jute Keen Do, is an influence of mine, and I like to follow his philosophy. There are many great martial arts out there. But when the time comes, the question is whether or not you can take care of yourself and your family on the streets. That’s the real test. Jute Keen Do is the way of the intercepting fists, focused more on defense. I wanted to cut out the stuff that doesn’t work. I was doing MMA, in essence, before MMA became big. MMA is the philosophy I had in 1994 when I invented Tose Kune Do. We were doing sprawl and brawl at that time, and I’m excited to see how my fighting art will do in competitive MMA.

PL: Is it applicable to MMA?
JDF: I think so. My style was missing the ground fighting. I have my blue belt in BJJ from Gracie Baja now, but we needed to have that ground game integrated into Tose Kune Do. There was a blank there. So we added wrestling, BJJ, etc. to it. Melvin Guillard has really helped add the wrestling. I needed to get with someone who could put it all together for me, and that was Saul Soliz. And he’s done it. He’s a good, hardcore trainer.

PL: Why have you waited so long to have your first fight?
JDF: I was supposed to fight in 2007, but it fell through. In truth, I’ve wanted to put the work in until I’m ready. I know I have a target on my back. Everyone is going to want to beat up the Green Ranger. But I am no Kimbo: I’ve been training for a very long time. I wanted to get in there before, but I got injured. But I’ll be ready when the time comes.

PL: What is your ultimate goal in MMA?
JDF: Just to go out there and do my best, and prove that I’m a real fighter. I’m not looking for any titles specifically. Ultimately, I want to give my fans something to watch and be proud of.

PL: Any message you want to leave for your fans? Please support my fights, and I hope I put on a good show. It won’t be any putties or monsters at the end of my fists and feet. It’s going to be for real this time.

Tose? What language is Tose from?

[Tensei85]

I wonder what language Jute Keen is as well??

[Lucas]

I think it might be a typo.

Toso Kune Do

[AdrianK]

Its too bad. After the beatdown he's going to receive, I doubt he's ever going to want to practice martial arts ever again.

[GeneChing]

...over 30 articles on this mornings newsfeeds, but MK got us the story weeks ago. Nice work, MK!

Power Ranger Wants to Pick an MMA Fight
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 9:30AM by TMZ Staff

The guy who used to play the Green and White Ranger on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is trying to fight with creatures from this planet -- dude is an MMA fighter now.

35-year-old Jason David Frank -- who used to fight inside a friggin' Dragonzord -- just told MMAweekly.com he's hoping to fight inside the UFC octagon.

The 6th degree Black Belt just signed a deal with a new management team and hopes to get in the ring pretty soon. We'll let you know when he actually schedules a fight.

No word on what color his trunks will be

[GeneChing]

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Green Power Ranger Throw Down After Decades-Long Beef (VIDEO)
The Blast staff
November 5, 2017 at 11:18 am PST

In a scene that sounds more like a movie plot than reality, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Green Power Ranger/MMA fighter Jason David Frank got into a heated altercation at Comic Con on Saturday.

The two stars have had an ongoing beef since Van Damme and Frank exchanged words back in 1995 at the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” premiere. Frank tried to settle their score by publicly challenging JC to a fight in 2010, but nothing ever happened … until yesterday.

Here’s what went down:

Frank tells The Blast he was asked to share his green room with JC and his 20-person entourage at La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City. Despite their checkered past, Frank agreed.

Frank says he grew suspicious when Van Damme’s handler approached him and asked him to take a photo with Van Damme.

Thinking Van Damme might just want to bury the hatchet, Frank went to meet up with him in the green room.

That’s when the Power Ranger says he realized it was “all a setup.” Frank tells us JC approached him with cameras rolling and demanded Frank apologize for calling him out in 2010 and said if he wanted a fight, “Let’s throw down.”

You can see the aggression in the video as the two stars beef up on each other, waiting for someone to throw the first punch. Frank even name drops his buddy Chuck Zito, who legendarily KO’d Van Damme at a topless bar in the 90s.

Van Damme and Frank both agreed to an MMA-style brawl and the Power Ranger grabbed the action star and put him in a headlock against the wall.

It was over before it even started — Frank says Van Damme froze up, seemingly surprised Frank was actually trying to fight him.

We’re told they argued back and forth for a few more minutes and, eventually, security stepped in and broke it up.

It’s unclear if Van Damme plans on releasing his footage of the altercation.

No respect. JCVD is 14 years older than Jason David Frank. And no one remembers Frank except us. Follow the link for a vid.

[GeneChing]

Jason David Frank Speaks Out On His Fight With Jean Claude Van Damme
by Matthew Mueller | November 7, 2017

Jason David Frank had a run-in with one of his idols over the weekend, but it did not go like he hoped, and resulted in an impromptu fight. Now he's setting the record straight on what happened.

Frank was appearing at a comic con event in Mexico, an event that Jean Claude Van Damme was also appearing at. The two weren't best of friends before, and as Frank details what happened in their crazy altercation, the two won't be hanging out anytime soon.

"The promoter contacted me and asked if Jean Claude Van Damme could borrow my green room and share the room," Frank told FloCombat. "The first thing in my head was yeah, he's a big star, he doesn't need to ask. I don't hold a grudge. So I said yeah, I'll share it no big deal."

Frank actually challenged Van Damme to a fight years ago, but Van Damme never responded. "I never expected us to talk about old times or anything because it was so long ago and there was no response [about the fight]," Frank said. "I didn't even think he knew about it. So they asked me to use the room and no big deal."

Those old issues though would resurface after Frank returned from his Comic Con duties. After spending several hours sighing autographs and taking pictures, he returned to his room to find it blocked off completely, despite it being his room. The promoter for the event got Frank a different room until Van Damme and his entourage left, but right after things went downhill.

Someone from Van Damme's group asked if Frank could come and take a picture with him before they left. Frank had no issue with doing so, but once he got in the room things changed.

"All of his crew comes out and everybody has their cameras out and he has this professional camera, I'm not sure if he's shooting a reality show or what, but all the cameras are on and he comes out of the room and straight up to me and he goes 'hey you like writing articles about people, you want to beat my ass?" Frank said recounting the altercation. "You gonna apologize for that?' and I said nope. He goes 'you think you can still beat my ass?' and I said yeah."

The Fight



According to Frank, Van Damme pushed for a fight. "He said 'OK let's do it right now'. I mean I thought it was all a joke but his security was all filming this and I heard them talking in the back and it was clear that he was trying to punk me. Either make me look bad or throw a punch first," Frank said.

Frank obliged and clinched him up. "I clinched him up and pushed him back, not in a violent way, in a respectful way that if you want to do this, let's do this," Frank said. "The whole time everybody is filming me and no security people are coming but everybody in his entourage is filming. So I clinched up with him and put him against the wall and he's talking and he froze up and I raised my knee and said 'do you want to this?' and he doesn't do anything so I let go."

That did not deter Van Damme from still talking. "I backed away and he starts saying 'well be careful what you say, you never know what I'm gonna do'. So that's when it escalated and his security guy came in and broke it up," Frank said.

Frank is positive that the whole ordeal was staged to make him look bad, and according to Frank Van Damme got aggressive again after security got in the room.

"Security came and broke it up and that's when he starts saying 'f*** you' and I told him come on. Why don't you come in the cage or the ring? Why are you doing this at Comic Con?" Frank said. "And then his security is trying to get my phone to take away the footage."

There were plenty of cameras around, so there is footage of the altercation. "My point is if he has all the footage and it's gonna make him look really bad. It doesn't belong at Comic Con," Frank said. "It belongs in a ring or a cage. I'm not bitter but he's acting childish."

Hit the next slide for more details!

The Aftermath


(Photo: Power Morphicon)

Frank was not looking for a fight that day, but he also is not about to back down from one.

"I was on edge thinking he's going to fight right now. He was trying to punk me so I got ready," Frank said. "I wasn't the aggressor but he showed no response. If somebody grabbed me behind the neck, I'd knock them out. I did that and he didn't do anything. Security didn't break it up. He's got his whole entourage around us and they looked hungry. But when I threw that knee that didn't even touch him and he cowered up."

Frank says the setup was to bully him, and that isn't something he will let happen. "When I let him go, he starts popping off and then when security got all around him he starts popping off even more," Frank said. "I just told him don't punk me. He was trying to punk me and bully me and I don't do that. I'm not going to get punked like that and I think he was shocked that I stood up to him," Frank said. "I was never bitter and I'm still not bitter but I'm a fighter."

Who knows, maybe this will lead to an actual Jason David Frank vs Jean Claude Van Damme MMA match down the line.

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Jason David Frank