Tom Hardy Just Won An Actual Martial Arts Tournament
Tom Hardy made a surprise appearance at a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament, winning first place in his division.
Actor Tom Hardy is taking a bit of time off before filming another Venom film and potentially the next installment of Mad Max, as reported by us a few weeks ago. The former Bane actor is known for his physicality and presence onscreen. That has apparently been something of a benefit to him outside of performing in front of cameras as The Dark Knight Rises and Venom star recently competed in the UMAC Milton Jeynes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open at the Oakgrove Sports Hall in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom.
Photos from the Facebook user and photographer Taped_fingers show Tom Hardy grizzled and ready for his next challenger. Not only did Hardy compete in the martial arts tournament, but he also won first place in his division. As noted by The Direct, his division puts him at a high-level Blue Belt, which is only ranked second behind Black Belt.
Taped_fingers also showed off photos of Tom Hardy preparing for another battle. An article from MK Citizen pointed out that the purpose of the intense tournament is to “take an opponent to the ground, control them and force them into submission using joint locks or chokeholds.” The report noted that Hardy learned basic martial arts while filming the movie Warrior in 2011. In addition to his martial arts training, the actor has also trained in MMA and boxing.
Tom Hardy appears to be taking a break before filming the next installment of Sony’s Venom franchise. In June, Hardy posted an untitled script of the project on his Instagram with the captioned “Last Dance.” The caption had some fans wondering if Venom 3 would be Hardy’s last outing as the fan-favorite Spider-Man character.
In addition to his work on the Venom franchise, the actor has also been many fans’ pick for the MCU’s Wolverine. In July, a fan took it upon themselves to post a deep fake video showing Tom Hardy as the famous X-Men character. Hardy has previously denied having any involvement in the MCU’s upcoming X-Men project.
While Tom Hardy is known for his work on comic-book films, his award-nominated projects are also getting much attention. Mad Max: Fury Road, in which Hardy plays the titled character, was recently ranked #5 on HBO’s streaming service. Interest in another Mad Max film with Hardy has grown since the announcement of a Furiosa prequel.
As for Tom Hardy’s participation in the tournament, it should be noted that some who were involved “didn’t even know” Hardy would be there. According to one of the actor’s opponents, they were genuinely star-struck after finding out that the Venom star would be the one facing them. They also called Hardy “a really strong guy.”
This isn’t even the first time Tom Hardy competed in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament. As reported by SBNation, the actor previously competed in the REORG open and won first place. The moral of this story is don’t underestimate Tom Hardy’s acting and fighting ability.
Tom Hardy briefly reprised his role as Venom in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The character was sent back to Sony’s Spiderverse during the film’s end-credits scene. As for where Venom goes now that he briefly entered the MCU, only time will tell.
