Exiled in New Zealand for several years, Kévin Jousset will compete in his first MMA fight in France this Saturday evening at the Accor Arena in Bercy during the third edition of UFC Paris (to be watched live on RMC Sport). A necessarily special moment for this ambitious man who already has two victories in the UFC but who many in the general public will discover during this event.
He will finally fight at home. But almost 20,000 kilometers from home. With Kévin Jousset, the general public will discover THE beautiful story of the third edition of UFC Paris. The boy has lived and trained for several years in Auckland, New Zealand. A little over a year ago, almost no one knew him in French MMA. And vice versa. But this Saturday evening, there will be nearly 16,000 in the stands of the Accor Arena shouting to bring him to victory against the dangerous Bryan Battle for his third fight in the largest MMA organization on the planet.
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Advice from a friend
France discovered this fighter through television. She will now experience the official presentations. Former national level judoka, discipline stopped following a major injury, Kévin Jousset exiled himself to Australia, after a detour through Scotland, to live a personal experience and improve his English.
Given his past, a friend advised him to try MMA. He launched in November 2016. The future pro knows the thing from afar, convinced that the sport is called… UFC (classic error). He had to learn everything about striking, the feet and fists, but the qualities drawn from his former life as a judoka gave him facilities, like his twirling takedowns which gave him the nickname “Air”.
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Prestigious training partners
Above all, he will quickly be very, very well surrounded. In Australia, he meets Alexander Volkanovski, UFC champion in the -66kg category between December 2019 and February 2024, and Craig Jones, world leader in grappling, in training. To improve his striking, he is advised to go to Auckland for sessions at City Kickboxing, the Eugene Bareman coaching room specializing in this area.
Well received and delighted with the sports content offered, Jousset found his new family and settled for good in New Zealand. His training partners? Israel Adesanya (former double UFC champion in the -84kg category) or Dan Hooker (current fifth in the -70kg ranking).
Having turned pro, the Frenchman sought two belts at the same time in the Australian organization HEX, where Adesanya had been titled before joining the UFC, and ended up convincing the American organization, helped by a helping hand (a video sent Dana White) signed “Izzy”. Jousset dreams of a UFC debut in Paris on September 2, 2023. It will be a week later in Sydney, Australia, for UFC 293, with a rear choke submission over Kiefer Crosbie to put an exclamation point on his first. A victory followed by another by unanimous decision over Song Kenan three months later in Las Vegas.
The dream of Paris
More back in the octagon since then, “Air” had only one objective after his canceled fight against Jared Gooden last May following a medical problem for his opponent before the weigh-in: to fight in Paris in front of his family. A first for him in MMA. In ultimately better timing than if it had taken place a year ago.
“Having two UFC fights elsewhere allowed the French public to discover me a little bit, it’s perfect,” he explains to RMC Sport.
For his part, Jousset was able to discover the French fans by watching the first two UFC Paris from the other side of the world. And that really makes him want it. “I saw the fiery atmosphere there was. It’s something I’m looking forward to. I know there will be pressure, but I’m the first to put it on myself. J “I have big ambitions, I know what I want, so the pressure is always there, but meeting the fans will be great.”
Without too much pressure? “Kévin has enough experience to manage that,” said Eugene Bareman, who came to Paris to accompany him. “He will have to control his emotions because he fights at home and it’s always a little different. But he is mature enough to manage the public.”
To manage the time difference, a huge trip required, Jousset arrived in France twelve days before the fight. But not directly in Paris. Headed to Nice to finish his preparation for the Boxing Squad with coach Aldric Cassata, with whom the one whose family lives in the Gap region trains when he returns to France since his return to the country after the fight against Song Kenan. “I had a base here to train, it was great. I spent the week in Nice and I arrived this Tuesday in Paris. It’s an hour’s flight, it’s more easy than the thirty of last week I feel good, I recovered well from the lag, no excuses, I’m ready.”
Not favorite of his fight
To face Battle, Jousset will be able to benefit from the lights and plans of the Bareman-Cassata duo in addition to those of Andrei Paulet, his wrestling coach in Auckland. Having had the chance to observe the first meeting of the two coaches in the training room of the combatants’ hotel in Bercy, we can confirm the quality of the connection… “Both are masters at what they do It’s going to be great to have them all in my corner.” In New Zealand as in Australia, his friends from the other side of the world will be up early in the morning to watch his fight. He will meet them again two weeks after UFC Paris, once a friend’s wedding in France has passed. Before quickly thinking about a return to the cage.
“If this fight goes as I want and there is no injury, I will be able to fight again before the end of the year,” imagines the Frenchman.
He will first have to pass the Battle obstacle, for which he will not appear as the bookmakers’ favorite. Not easy. “It’s a big fight, against a very good opponent who has experience and a lot of hype. I’m expecting a tough fight but I’ve trained very hard to make it as easy as possible. I’m ready for anything. I will do everything to finish him before the limit I will do it intelligently because it is the victory that counts but I really want to show that I am one of the best in my category. impressive for my first fight in France, the UFC knows that my name can explode. It’s perfect.”
A victory would bring him closer to his first goal in the UFC: the top 15 in the -77kg category. “If I beat Battle and fight again in December, I think it will be someone close to the top 20. And the fight after that, probably against a top 15.” And a top 10 for a return of the UFC to France in 2025? This ambitious man who started MMA late and has no time to waste (he is 31 years old) dreams of such a path. It’s up to him to do the work to make it materialize.
Kevin Jousset’s mission begins in Paris. Where the other French people on the map were all able to interact with him face to face for the first time. And where the public who does not know him well will discover a generous warrior. “I am someone who is not afraid to take and give back. I simply have the soul of a fighter.”
