Yesterday saw the birthday hit once again for martial arts and action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Muscles from Brussels, as he’s affectionately called, has been a staple in action cinema since his debut in the classic slugfest Bloodsport back in 1987. His physical prowess and graceful and balletic like martial arts moves made him an instant star and he has been so even after being relocated to DTV actioners in the early 2000’s.

With news coming that JCVD might be retiring after making one more memorable action film, the legacy he has left will last well after his time on this earth is over. JCVD is simply one of the world’s most dominant action stars to ever kick his way into our hearts.

To celebrate JC’s special day yesterday, we here at Action-Flix have shared one of our favorite action sequences from one of his many high-octane flicks. Normally, you’ll see sites share scenes from his most memorable films like the aforementioned Bloodsport or Kickboxer or Hard Target which happens to be my favorite movie in his filmography arsenal, but I’ve put on here one scene from one of his more recent movies to come out over the years.

This film rejuvenated a franchise that saw itself dead after a lackluster sequel and two DTV films that starred no one remotely involved in the original. I’m talking about Universal Soldier: Regeneration.

Director John Hyams injected new adrenaline into the series and Van Damme delivered one of his best performances as a broken and beaten down Luc Deveraux who must dust off his lethal killing skills when a new army of UniSols run rampant.

The sequence here cones towards the finale when Deveraux is finally let loose to do what he does best. It’s a military combat screen with hyper-kinetic CQB action as Deveraux runs a gauntlet of enemy soldiers and decimates them with ease. It’s bloody, bullet riddled and brutal and JCVD is at his merciless best here. It even has some bad ass knife fighting to boot which happens to be one of my favorite types of action sequences ever.

Happy Birthday JC! If you are truly calling it quits, then just know that you have a legion of fans that will always call you one of the best.

You didn’t think that I would just share one memorable scene from the film did you! Oh no. JCVD is too much of an icon for that. As a bonus, I’ve included his stripped down and barbaric duel with MMA pro Arnold “The Pitbull” Arlovski. It’s a realistic and MMA infused beatdown that satisfies on every level. Enjoy!