With more than 60,000 licensees in France, MMA has only grown in popularity in France in recent years. Alsace is not to be outdone, having hosted its first event dedicated to the discipline in mid-September, in Colmar.
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Make no mistake, we are not talking about a well-known insurance policy here, but rather a combat sport. MMA (for “Mixed Martial Arts” or “Mixed Martial Arts”) has enjoyed immense success in France since the legalization of its competitions in January 2020. Example in Alsace, land of champions.
On September 14, 2024, the Parc Expo in Colmar hosted the first MMA event ever organized in Alsace by the “Hexagone MMA” league. Proof of the importance that the discipline has taken on in recent years in the country, carried by its figures such as Cédric Doumbé, Ciryl Gane and the Alsatian Baki.
Here, no ring, but a cage, in the shape of a hexagon. This is how MMA practitioners compete in their fights. “When you enter the arena, it immediately feels like a gladiator!”compares Salvatore Prahin, professional fighter who trains at the Wery Fighting Academy in Rosenau (Haut-Rhin).
Nobody likes getting hit, but you don't have to hate it
Salvatore PrahinFighter at the Wery Fighting Academy in Rosenau
In this discipline, whose competitions were authorized late in France due to its violence, almost all blows are permitted: kicks, punches, elbows, to the face, to the ground, submission… “No one likes getting hit, but you shouldn't hate it. It's still a combat sport, you get hit! Otherwise, you have to go do a sport where there is no contact”adds Salvatore Prahin at the microphone of Louis Belin and Bernard Stemmer.
“We think it's a violent sport but there's a lot of strategy involved. But I think we don't see it from an outside point of view. However, it's a game of feints and it's often the smartest one wins and not necessarily the strongest.”comments Nathan Seiler, amateur MMA fighter, in full training.
By wanting to compete against practitioners of other disciplines, boxing, wrestling and even ju-jitsu fighters gave birth to MMA in the United States in the 1990s. And if violence and dangerousness have long been associated with discipline, it is more and more supervised.
“We must not forget that it is sport above all. We are not scavengers, we do not want to kill someone in the octagon. Of course there is a spectacular side with our little gloves and the injuries that will happen But for me, MMA is much less dangerous than boxing, for example.would like to point out Rayan Da Costa, also an amateur fighter at the Wery Fighting Academy.
With the legalization of competitions, the sport only attracts more and more practitioners. “For two years, there has really been a big boom”comments Richard Wery, sports coach and founder of the Wery Fighting Academy. “It's really the number one combat sport currently, widely. You should know that in the United States, it has dethroned wrestling and boxing. And young people are interested in it, it's a bit like skating in the 80s.”
Proof of the enthusiasm around MMA, the first evening organized by the French league “Hexagone MMA”, at the Parc Expo in Colmar, on September 14, 2024. In front of 3,000 people and thousands of viewers, the American-style show promised to place. “We're used to watching on TV, but being right in front of it isn't the same! It's really crazy”smiles a fan.
Especially since Salvatore Prahin won his fight, his very first as a professional, in his region moreover. “I’m not a small guy, so I hope this fight showed you where I belong”he told the crowd after his victory. Enough to hope for a professional career: the Alsatian has already signed for three fights with “Hexagone MMA”.
