INTERVIEW – The journalist, who plays his own role in the Netflix fiction, talks about his experience on the set. And sheds light on the particularities of this discipline legalized four years ago which has more and more enthusiasts.
Conor McGregor's left hook and Francis Ngannou's clinches are beginning to enjoy a certain notoriety in France. THE MMA (“Mixed Martial Arts”), a discipline legalized here only in 2020, is establishing itself in the sporting and audiovisual landscape. She already has the right to a series, The Cage broadcast on Netflix . Thomas Desson, voice of RMC Sport, plays his own role. The opportunity, for him, to closely observe the great machinery of an international fiction which, the journalist and commentator wants to believe, will « democratize » a little more discipline. He has followed it enthusiastically for around fifteen years. His channel, RMC Sport, has just broadcast a documentary, available in replay, which traces the history of this martial art criticized for its brutality. Or praised for its demands and its intensity.
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LE FIGARO TV MAGAZINE. – Trump's victory should be beneficial to the discipline judging by his friendship with Dana White the boss of the UFC, the all-powerful MMA organization.
Thomas DESSON. – Indeed, the president-elect brought him on stage among the first during the celebration of his victory in the presidential election. Between them, there are elevator returns. Dana White wanted to find a way to do fights during Covid-19. Donald Trump helped him and MMA audiences soared during this period…
In The Cage, you play Thomas Desson, journalist at RMC Sports… What is it like to play your own role?
It's exhilarating! And quite funny. In the same way that Franck Gastambide had Fred Musa from “Planète Rap” play in Valid (his previous series, Editor's note), this MMA fanatic director wondered who were the most identifiable in this world. He came to get me. Which also offers real recognition for the channel and its work. Especially since The Cagewhere everything is precise, is a big production. Franck benefited from an alignment of the planets. With the actors' strike in Hollywood, Netflix needed content. The Cage thus became an international series, broadcast in thirty-two languages. Where we also see Georges St-Pierre, the Léo Messi of MMA…
“Today, it has become cool to say that we love MMA. »
Thomas Desson
Did you have to multiply the takes?
For us, the journalists, who Franck had told to do exactly as usual on set, the first take was often the right one. The exercise wasn't that difficult. Much less, in any case, than that of the actors who had to adjust their texts in relation to our comments. On the other hand, when I play the role of speaker during a meeting, I had to redo the sequence seventy-one times because of the different shots to be put into the box!
In fifteen years of expertise, you have seen the vision of MMA evolve greatly…
At the time, in 2008, when I commented for RTL9, broadcast in Luxembourg, people said to me: “Ah, are you an MMA presenter?” Which meant a lot. And more precisely: “You do it because you need to eat”. The tone has changed today. After legalization, the public discovered these incredible American-style shows. There is a before and after for those who have attended a UFC meeting. We saw it during the Doumbè – Baki meeting, the discipline also passed the VIP cordon. It has become cool to say that we like MMA.
More than four years ago now, the legalization of the discipline was announced on RMC Sport.
Minister Laura Flessel had already been made aware of the interests of this sport. But it was his successor Roxana Maracineanu who, on RMC Sport, in April 2019, then confirmed that she saw no contradiction in the practice. She had worked extensively on the file. With others, we pushed the walls in this direction.
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What projects now await MMA in France?
He needs to build his amateur base. We have very high level pros, we now need to interest the amateur world. Today, there are around three hundred gyms in France where you can train. A fashion phenomenon is emerging, a bit like boxing ten years ago and cross fit five years ago. People look favorably on this total sport, with cardio, rubbing, gloves. And then, it can be practiced for not much.
The series places great emphasis on “trash-talk”, these verbal provocations of which Cédric Doumbè became the champion in France.
We have the feeling that every press conference, indeed, must end in a fight. This is fortunately not the case. In France, we had fighters attached to the martial art nature of MMA, centered on humility. But there was the influence of American MMA, with Conor McGregor king of “trash talk”. The buzz was also a way of selling pay-per-view (the UFC is financed by a pay-per-view system, Editor's note). A cold war has broken out between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Are they forcing the line? There is an element of fakery, of course. What can bother me is that young people think that this is a sine qua non condition. In my shows, I hope to convey the idea that the sporting aspect, the human stories, the very diverse profile of fighters from different disciplines, are much more interesting.
Capture Netflix
How do you find the rendering of the fight scenes?
This is what stressed the production the most. This is where the issue of the series lay. All the movements we see exist in the real world. Moreover, without the actors doing it on purpose, the shots sometimes hit for real. There were mouthguards that came off! Bosh (the actor who plays the formidable Ibrahim, Editor's note) weighs around a hundred kilos… I also followed with pleasure the work of the special effects to make the fights even more realistic. With computer-generated images, we can recreate faces or move an arm forward five centimeters so that it hits the face. These are working hours. As for the actors, Melvin Boomer (who plays Taylor, the young fighter, Editor's note) ate seven meals a day and did push-ups between takes. He gained a dozen kilos of mass in the middle of filming.
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Cédric Doumbé: “Performing in front of an audience in a “one man show” will be the end of the game”
Where is the broadcasting of MMA in France?
RMC Sport has signed a long-term contract with the UFC, until 2027. Major UFC Paris events also broadcast on RMC Découverte. This is a further step towards the general public. The Cageit will also democratize the discipline a little more. Beyond the fights, what this series tells, namely the adventures of a kid left behind, is a story of personal development. It can affect everyone.
