this M6+ reality show, not recommended for under-16s, which will shock the French

Launched this Wednesday, November 20 directly on the M6+ platform, this new reality TV show would undoubtedly have had difficulty finding a place in the channel's rather family-oriented program schedules. She is sometimes violent. She is sometimes so rude. It is so likely to encourage the public, young people in particular, to take up a sport that is much more demanding than it seems.

«MMA Academy», these are 28 amateur fighters who will have to compete for weeks in the hope of making themselves known and, why not, joining the highly coveted caste of professional players. But the show's primary ambition is to raise awareness of a sport that is still relatively unknown and to reveal the champions of tomorrow. It also involves many risks, hence the group's decision to limit its broadcast to digital to the detriment of linear.

Also read
Michel Fugain, a former priest and an MMA fighter: the guests of “What a time!” this Saturday October 26

It is therefore not recommended for children under 16 years of age. The principle hits home: 28 amateurs, men and women (mostly men, in fact), in total immersion in a Parisian school, will undergo intensive training and compete for 12 episodes. Ten of them (6 men and four women for the sake of parity) will be immediately selected by two rival coaches, each of them aiming to reach the final which will be broadcast live on W9 on December 7 in gala mode and leave with a check for 10,000 euros coupled with a contract with the prestigious “King of Fighters” (KOF) league.

Also read
Cédric Doumbé: “Performing in front of an audience in a “one man show” will be the end of the game”

What do we see there? Fighting – and even heavy fighting -, well-oiled “pecs”, almost raw steaks devoured with bare hands in the locker rooms, a lot of testosterone, a very dominant lineup of men, push-up sessions of rare elegance , tears and as Michel Audiard would have said in the cult Uncle gunslingersendless exchanges of “puffs in full P”. In short, it vents, it smells of sweat, it rattles, it grips, it bleeds, it groans, it howls, it checks that the waltzers are well placed in their shell and it lasts for hours.

Also read
“It’s the best reality show I could have produced!” : Alexia Laroche-Joubert discusses the legislative elections

It's difficult to make an attractive TV show around such an unglamorous universe. And yet… There is a lot of naturalness in all of this. There is the desire to come to terms with a life which for some has not always been kind. That of becoming famous, common to candidates on all reality shows in the world. Absolute respect for the rules. And there is the talent of the academy director GregMMAstar of Mixed Martial Art, pioneer of the genre, YouTuber, muscular, charming. Without forgetting Jérôme Le Banner, sponsor of the show, former world kickboxing champion, the type that you wouldn't dare, even drunk, to provoke when leaving the bistro.

The first five episodes have been available since yesterday, Wednesday November 20, 2024, on M6+. The next four will go live on November 27 and the last four on December 4. The grand final will be broadcast live on W9 on December 7 at 11 p.m., in the third part of the evening.