'Keanu, you owe me': UFC coach claims Keanu Reeves stole his technique for 'John Wick' fight scene

A beloved UFC trainer and coach accused actor Keanu Reeves of taking some of his unique techniques and using them in a movie.

Firas Zahabi is a legendary coach who runs the Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada. Outside of owning the gym, Zahabi is most known for training former welterweight champion and all-time UFC great Georges St-Pierre.

During a podcast, Zahabi recalled teaching a student before finding out his name is Keanu. Upon learning that the student was Lebanese just like him, Zahabi wondered why someone of his ethnic background would have that name. Zahabi said the student informed him that actor Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, and his parents were fans.

This jokingly shocked Zahabi, who said that Reeves "years ago, he stole one of my moves."

Zahabi joked that he could not believe that a fellow Lebanese person would bite his style without crediting him. Zahabi said, in particular, that a scene from "John Wick: Chapter 2" used a jujitsu move he called the "web guard," where one counters an opponent by jumping in the air and pulling them to the ground.

"It was a great move, it’s called the web guard. I used to call it the web guard. I used to rush people punching and kicking and then whenever they would grab a hold of me, if they grabbed me with an underhook, I would jump web guard. If I grab them with an underhook, I could also do it, so it didn’t matter to me, which is what I loved. As soon as we tied up, I could get the fight to the ground."

Firas Zahabi (left) and former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre in 2018. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Zahabi showed a scene from the movie, known as the museum fight scene, and juxtaposed it with footage of his own technique in the gym.

"I put this move out of circulation," Zahabi went on. "But then a man by the name of Keanu Reeves, the man actually dared to rip me off."

'When the white man steals from me, I'm not so upset. I expect it! But a fellow Lebanese?'

While most of his comments appeared to be in jest, Zahabi still fully went down the path of claiming Reeves, and assumedly his fight choreographer for the film, Chad Stahelski, had stolen his technique without crediting him.

He also made jokes that were sure to offend some.

"Now, I'm used to the white man stealing from me, but if he's a fellow Lebanese, that’s the problem. Now that I know he's a fellow Lebanese, I must insist that I collect from him. When the white man steals from me, I'm not so upset. I expect it! But a fellow Lebanese? This cannot go unpunished. He jumps web guard in the movie. Long story short, Keanu, you owe me massari."

While Reeves was born in Lebanon, his parents are English and Hawaiian, which may change Zahabi's feelings on the matter.

Stahelski reportedly started MMA in the early 1990s, however, while Zahabi did not start his martial arts journey allegedly until 1998.

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