Tag: Dat Nguyen

WATCH: Former Texas A&M football star Dat Nguyen speaks about upcoming documentary

Former Texas A&M football star Dat Nguyen, who donned the Maroon and White from 1995 to 1998, is the subject of a new documentary releasing on Fourth of July.

If you’re in need of Fourth of July plans, Texas A&M football fans can watch a new documentary covering one of the great legends to don the Maroon and White.

In a video shared through GigEm247, former Aggie football star Dat Nguyen took a moment to speak with the media on Saturday, dedicating the opportunity to answer questions about his upcoming documentary that explores his life story and upbringing.

The film, titled “All American | The Dat Nguyen Story,” will release on July 4 and will be available across multiple platforms. Fans can tune in via the Texas A&M athletics website at 12thMan.com/Dat, as well as the 12th Man app on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire Stick. 12th Man Films, a division of Texas A&M’s in-house 12th Man Productions, produced the documentary.

Nguyen, who donned the Maroon and White from 1995 to 1998, established himself as one of the great players in Aggie football history. His achievements on the playing field were just as noteworthy given the path that led up to his stardom.

As the son of Vietnamese refugees, his family fled Vietnam while his mother was pregnant with Dat during the historic Fall of Saigon in 1975. His mother gave birth to him at a refugee camp in Arkansas before their family eventually relocated to Rockport, Texas. He would go on to emerge as a star linebacker for Rockport-Fulton High, before carrying on his football career with the Aggies at the collegiate level.

While at A&M, Nguyen would go on to win both the Lombardi and Bednarik Awards, while also notching consensus All-American honors in 1998. To this day, he remains the all-time tackles leader in Aggie history (517). After his success at the collegiate level, Nguyen would go on to be drafted in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

Ahead of the documentary’s release on Independence Day, you can check out the trailer below from the Texas A&M Athletics YouTube page:

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

BKFC 22 live and official results

Keep up with the live and official results of BKFC 22, which takes place at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Fla.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship returns on Friday evening for BKFC 22 and MMA Junkie will keep you updated with live and official results throughout the event.

The bareknuckle event filled with MMA veterans takes place at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Fla., and airs on BKFC TV and FITE TV. Two title belts are on the line as [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag] looks to defend his cruiserweight title for the first time against [autotag]Lorenzo Hunt[/autotag] and [autotag]Luis Palomino[/autotag] defends his lightweight title against [autotag]Dat Nguyen[/autotag].

Lombard (3-0 BKFC) and Hunt (5-1 BKFC) will finally settle the score after their heated rivalry began with a brawl after BKFC 18. Undefeated under the BKFC banner, Lombard defeated Joe Riggs to become BKFC cruiserweight champion.

His opponent, Hunt, enters Friday’s championship bout on an all-stoppage, four-fight winning streak. Victories over Erick Lozano, Davian Green, Rob Morrow, and Josh Dyer propelled him into this main event title fight.

The co-main event will see lightweight champ Palomino (4-0 BKFC) attempt to make it five wins in a row, as he returns to action following hospitalization due to a serious bout with COVID-19.

Nguyen (3-0 BKFC), like Palomino, is undefeated in bareknuckle competition. With three wins under the BKFC banner, Nguyen will attempt to build off his unanimous decision win over Johnny Bedford in February to become champion.

The official results of BKFC 22 include:

MAIN CARD (BKFC TV/FITE 9 p.m. ET)

  • Hector Lombard vs. Lorenzo Hunt – for cruiserweight title
  • Luis Palomino vs. Dat Nguyen – for lightweight title
  • Britain Hart vs. Pearl Gonzalez
  • Mike Kyle vs. Gustavo Trujillo
  • Marcus Brimage vs. Will Shutt
  • Rusty Crowder vs. Howard Davis
  • Enoch Adonai vs. Francesco Ricci
  • Joshuah Alvarez vs. Arthur Walcott-Ceesay
  • Montaser Aboughaly vs. Cage Noah

PRELIMINARY CARD (BKFC TV/FITE 8 p.m. ET)

  • Brian Maxwell vs. James Rodriguez
  • Chris Cornerlius vs. Peter Peraza
  • Darwin Bonilla vs. Tyler Randall

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01f5k5h8pz3brj4xqb image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[vertical-gallery id=1638593]

Dat Nguyen: From son of a war refugee to leader of America’s Team

The latest in our historical series looks back at the amazing life story and football career of the first NFL player of Vietnamese descent.

Plenty of pro football superstars come from humble beginnings. But even the most creative and talented Hollywood scriptwriter would have a hard time inventing a more improbable path to the bright lights of the National Football League than the real one Dat Nguyen lived.

He was an immensely popular linebacker for just seven seasons, a punishing hitter who played the game with passion and intensity and football smarts that were obvious to anyone who saw him take the field. But the obstacles he had to overcome to reach the sport’s biggest stage should have stopped him long before he got there.

He was undersized. He was not terribly fast. Teammates had a difficult time understanding his accent as he called plays in the huddle. And, of course, most notably, there’s the not-inconsequential matter of being the child of Vietnamese refugees who fled their home in the middle of the night during a horrific war and survived a treacherous voyage at sea that included violent storms and actual pirates just to settle in a new country that, by and large, didn’t want them.

Those were the cards Dat Nguyen was dealt. And all he did with them was- against all odds- become the starting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. In the process, he changed the way many people in this country viewed people from his parents’ homeland. He’s inspired multiple generations of kids whose families have come from the other side of the world. And he continues to be a role model and a teacher to those around him, encouraging them to push forward and do exactly what the Americanized pronunciation of his own family name reminds them they can do, too.

Win.

Shaquille O’Neal fan of bare knuckle boxing, plans to invest in sport

Shaquille O’Neal said he’s a fan of bare knuckle boxing and plans to invest in the sport.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on USAToday.com.

***

LAKELAND, Fla. — Shaquille O’Neal was more than a casual spectator at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event Friday night. He is an unabashed fan of the sport and told USA TODAY Sports that he plans to invest in it.

“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world,’’ O’Neal said from his ringside seat between bouts. “The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting.’’

O’Neal said he most likely will invest in BKFC, the bareknuckle organization founded in 2018 by Dave Feldman. Feldman said completing the deal with O’Neal is a mostly a matter of “dotting the i’s and crossing t’s.’’

“Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world,’’ Feldman said. “Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company, and it’s going to make a lot for people want to be part of the company.’’

O’Neal’s association no longer will surprise after “KnuckleMania,’’ a pay-per-view event held less than 40 miles from Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl 55. After the second-to-last fight, O’Neal climbed into the ring and presented the bantamweight championship belt to Dat Nguyen, who beat Johnny Bedford for the title.

O’Neal, who was wearing camouflage, said he discovered the sport through a friend and attended his first BKFC event on Dec. 11 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“And it was a great event,’’ O’Neal said, adding, “Because they don’t want to use the gloves, they’re fighting like a fight should be had.’’

The BKFC event Friday was held at RP Funding Center, home to the Orlando Magic’s affiliate in the NBA G League. It featured Paige VanZant, the former UFC fighter who was making her bareknuckle debut.

She lost her bout to Britain Hart by a unanimous decision.

Shaquille O’Neal fan of bare knuckle boxing, plans to invest in sport

Shaquille O’Neal said he’s a fan of bare knuckle boxing and plans to invest in the sport.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on USAToday.com.

***

LAKELAND, Fla. — Shaquille O’Neal was more than a casual spectator at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event Friday night. He is an unabashed fan of the sport and told USA TODAY Sports that he plans to invest in it.

“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world,’’ O’Neal said from his ringside seat between bouts. “The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting.’’

O’Neal said he most likely will invest in BKFC, the bareknuckle organization founded in 2018 by Dave Feldman. Feldman said completing the deal with O’Neal is a mostly a matter of “dotting the i’s and crossing t’s.’’

“Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world,’’ Feldman said. “Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company, and it’s going to make a lot for people want to be part of the company.’’

O’Neal’s association no longer will surprise after “KnuckleMania,’’ a pay-per-view event held less than 40 miles from Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl 55. After the second-to-last fight, O’Neal climbed into the ring and presented the bantamweight championship belt to Dat Nguyen, who beat Johnny Bedford for the title.

O’Neal, who was wearing camouflage, said he discovered the sport through a friend and attended his first BKFC event on Dec. 11 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“And it was a great event,’’ O’Neal said, adding, “Because they don’t want to use the gloves, they’re fighting like a fight should be had.’’

The BKFC event Friday was held at RP Funding Center, home to the Orlando Magic’s affiliate in the NBA G League. It featured Paige VanZant, the former UFC fighter who was making her bareknuckle debut.

She lost her bout to Britain Hart by a unanimous decision.

Shaquille O’Neal fan of bare knuckle boxing, plans to invest in sport

Shaquille O’Neal said he’s a fan of bare knuckle boxing and plans to invest in the sport.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on USAToday.com.

***

LAKELAND, Fla. — Shaquille O’Neal was more than a casual spectator at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event Friday night. He is an unabashed fan of the sport and told USA TODAY Sports that he plans to invest in it.

“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world,’’ O’Neal said from his ringside seat between bouts. “The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting.’’

O’Neal said he most likely will invest in BKFC, the bareknuckle organization founded in 2018 by Dave Feldman. Feldman said completing the deal with O’Neal is a mostly a matter of “dotting the i’s and crossing t’s.’’

“Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world,’’ Feldman said. “Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company, and it’s going to make a lot for people want to be part of the company.’’

O’Neal’s association no longer will surprise after “KnuckleMania,’’ a pay-per-view event held less than 40 miles from Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl 55. After the second-to-last fight, O’Neal climbed into the ring and presented the bantamweight championship belt to Dat Nguyen, who beat Johnny Bedford for the title.

O’Neal, who was wearing camouflage, said he discovered the sport through a friend and attended his first BKFC event on Dec. 11 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“And it was a great event,’’ O’Neal said, adding, “Because they don’t want to use the gloves, they’re fighting like a fight should be had.’’

The BKFC event Friday was held at RP Funding Center, home to the Orlando Magic’s affiliate in the NBA G League. It featured Paige VanZant, the former UFC fighter who was making her bareknuckle debut.

She lost her bout to Britain Hart by a unanimous decision.

Shaquille O’Neal fan of bare knuckle boxing, plans to invest in sport

Shaquille O’Neal said he’s a fan of bare knuckle boxing and plans to invest in the sport.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on USAToday.com.

***

LAKELAND, Fla. — Shaquille O’Neal was more than a casual spectator at the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event Friday night. He is an unabashed fan of the sport and told USA TODAY Sports that he plans to invest in it.

“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world,’’ O’Neal said from his ringside seat between bouts. “The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting.’’

O’Neal said he most likely will invest in BKFC, the bareknuckle organization founded in 2018 by Dave Feldman. Feldman said completing the deal with O’Neal is a mostly a matter of “dotting the i’s and crossing t’s.’’

“Now we’ve got one of the most sought-after sports figures in the entire world,’’ Feldman said. “Who doesn’t know Shaq? And now he’s going to be part of this company, and it’s going to make a lot for people want to be part of the company.’’

O’Neal’s association no longer will surprise after “KnuckleMania,’’ a pay-per-view event held less than 40 miles from Raymond James Stadium, site of Super Bowl 55. After the second-to-last fight, O’Neal climbed into the ring and presented the bantamweight championship belt to Dat Nguyen, who beat Johnny Bedford for the title.

O’Neal, who was wearing camouflage, said he discovered the sport through a friend and attended his first BKFC event on Dec. 11 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

“And it was a great event,’’ O’Neal said, adding, “Because they don’t want to use the gloves, they’re fighting like a fight should be had.’’

The BKFC event Friday was held at RP Funding Center, home to the Orlando Magic’s affiliate in the NBA G League. It featured Paige VanZant, the former UFC fighter who was making her bareknuckle debut.

She lost her bout to Britain Hart by a unanimous decision.