Kurt is the younger brother and
cornerman of Eric "The Eliminator" Sloane, the heavyweight kickboxing world champion. After another successful title defense, Eric is enticed by the media to compete in Thailand, where kickboxing was started, to further establish his legacy. As a result, Eric and Kurt travel to
Bangkok to fight Tong "The Tiger" Po, Thailand's undefeated top fighter. Eric is supremely confident, but Kurt becomes apprehensive after witnessing Tong Po kicking a concrete pillar in preparation for the fight. He begs Eric not to fight, but Eric dismisses any concerns. Eric gets beaten badly until Kurt
throws in the towel, but Tong Po kicks the towel out of the ring and delivers a vicious elbow strike to Eric's back, immobilizing him. Kurt leaves with his brother on a stretcher, but the fight officials leave them on the street. Winston Taylor, a retired
United States Army Special Forces soldier and
Vietnam War veteran, agrees to help the pair by driving them to the hospital. As a result of Tong Po's brutal attack, Eric is paralyzed from the waist down and will never be able to walk again. An enraged Kurt vows to avenge his brother. He searches for a trainer to teach him
Muay Thai, but is mocked and laughed out of the gym by the local fighters. Eventually, Taylor tells him about Xian Chow, a famous Muay Thai Kru. Although reluctant at first, Xian agrees to train Kurt after Kurt prevents goons sent by Freddy Li - a higher up in a racketeering organization and Tong Po's manager - from stealing money from Xian's niece, Mylee. As Kurt progresses in his training, Xian convinces Freddy Li to arrange a preliminary match between Kurt and another fighter. Kurt is victorious as the crowd chants "Nack Suk Cao" ("The White Warrior"), and earns a match against Tong Po. Kurt learns that he and Tong Po will fight in the "ancient way": both fighters wrap their hands in hemp rope, which is then coated in resin, and dipped in broken glass to make them deadly weapons. Freddy Li arranges to have the fight fixed, and borrows $1 million from the Thai crime syndicate's boss Tao Liu in order to bet on Tong Po. Prior to the match, Mylee is beaten and raped by Tong Po, while Eric is kidnapped so that Freddy Li can blackmail Kurt into losing the fight. Mylee begs Taylor to help find Eric, but he is reluctant to cross Freddy Li. To save his brother's life, Kurt is instructed by Freddy Li to
go the distance with Tong Po before losing the match. While Tong Po punishes Kurt, Xian manage to locate Eric and rescue him with Taylor's help. Before the final round begins, Eric arrives with Xian and Taylor. With his brother now out of danger, and angered by Tong Po's taunts over Mylee's rape, Kurt has Mylee cut his hand wraps and defeats Tong Po. After winning the match, he knocks out Freddy Li as well and celebrates with the others. ==Cast==