In 1972, martial arts legends Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris filmed a fight scene inside the Colosseum in Rome. Today the fight scene has become as iconic as the Colosseum itself. Chuck Norris had to make changes before filming the ten-minute fight scene. However, these bizarre changes didn’t have to do anything with the fight but his diet.

After the success of ‘The Big Boss’ and ‘Fist of Fury’, Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest gave Lee creative control over his film. Thus, Lee became the director, scriptwriter, and lead actor of his passion project, ‘The Way of the Dragon’. Lee had worked out with Chuck Norris and offered the American a role in his movie.

Chuck Norris wasn’t big enough for Bruce Lee

In an interview with Geoff Thompson, Chuck Norris once revealed why he changed his diet before filming the fight scene with Bruce Lee. Norris said when the producers looked at him and Lee together, they thought Chuck needed to put on more weight. They aimed to make Norris look much bigger than Lee. “So I started eating hamburgers and drinking malt,” said Norris.

Chuck Norris said when he arrived in Rome for the filming, Norris weighed 168 lbs, which was the martial artist’s fight weight. Lee, at 145 lb, weighed over 20 lb less than Norris. However, the producers wanted Chuck to put on 20 lb more. The bizarre request intimidated Norris because he had not put on so much weight before. “Well, I don’t know,” said Norris.

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While Chuck Norris tried his best to bulk up for the role, he had been training every day. Norris told Geoff he was burning off all excess calories because of the rigorous training and rehearsals. Since Norris was at a dead end, he stopped training and just ate. In the end, the martial artist put on 12 lbs and weighed 180 lbs during filming. 

Despite Being 5’8” Tall, Chuck Norris Once Revealed How Bruce Lee Was ‘Incredibly Strong for His Size’

However, Norris also said his performance suffered, as he found it challenging to perform flying or jumping kicks. 

The iconic fight scene was illegal

To Lee, the Colosseum was the fitting stage for the epic showdown. It was the arena where Roman gladiators fought thousands of years ago. However, the only problem was that filming inside the fabled area was illegal.

In his book, Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly wrote Bruce Lee and the film crew acted like tourists. After bribing Roman officials, they got a few hours to film the scene. However, they could only film a few shots with limited time. They shot the rest of the sequence inside a studio and merged the footage.

Watch this story – “Will Never Amount to Anything”: Jackie Chan Was Once Banished With Humiliating Words for Being a Martial Artist 

Do you think Bruce Lee vs, Chuck Norris in The Way of the Dragon, is the most iconic fight scene of all time?