Paris (AFP)

Heavyweight Cyril Gane (30), one of the French fighters in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the most powerful MMA league in the world, is delighted with the organization of the first evenings in France, as that of Saturday in Bercy, in an interview with AFP.

Question: The first MMA evenings are starting to be organized in France under the banner of minor organizations.

What does this inspire you?

Answer: "It is very important especially for the fighters of the Hexagon. Finally, we will be able to poach the French. This will democratize MMA and make the discipline known, which will allow MMA organizations to draw from the French for them. test internationally. It will also be a big springboard for me. They will finally get to know me with the posture of a flag-bearer and therefore it may change in terms of notoriety. "

Q: You must be impatient to fight one day in France ...

A: "Completely. It would be a gift for my fans, those who support me, who give me strength. It is also important in my career plan."

Q: What are the plans for the UFC in France?

A: "The UFC leaves for now the minor organizations to introduce the sport to the French before arriving. The strategy is to let the others open the field and come behind. Because we know very good everyone is looking forward to the UFC. "

Q: It's also a way to improve the image of this sport, little known in France ...

A: "The French are going to get to know him. It is by far one of the least dangerous of combat sports. Boxing is more dangerous. A boxer takes a knockout, falls and gets up to fight. He can take three. KO in one minute. In MMA, the referee stops the fight as soon as the integrity of the fighter is at stake. In the UFC, there is a monstrous medical follow-up. They have a picture to sell and so they make three times more than the others in terms of safety. "

Q: You started out with Muay Thai.

Why did you then opt for MMA?

A: "It's the social lift. Muay Thai is a very hard sport, harder than MMA because we always target the same parts of the body with the same weapons. In MMA, we can vary several disciplines. , do not hit in the same place. Muay Thai does not develop enough and you do not make that much money. It is not comparable with MMA. MMA allows me to live without working on the side (. ..) I wanted to take this bet and try the MMA adventure and I was right because it went beyond my expectations. We gave ourselves two years to go to the UFC and we did it in a year. "

Q: How did you get into the UFC?

A: "It was very fast. I had a first fight in 2018 with the TKO (MMA organization based in Canada, note) against an experienced fighter that I beat in 1 minute 40 on submission and we sent the video to the UFC very quickly. On my 2nd fight against the champion TKO, I did a very big demonstration and after the UFC said to us + do yet another fight but it's good for us + " .

Q: Tell us a bit about the UFC?

A: "It can be impressive, but I found it pleasant. It's an extremely professional context, we realize that it is a very big factory. For each pole, you have five or six people. C he is a huge American machine and it is the benchmark for its fighters but also for its organization. "

Q: What is your ambition in the UFC?

A: "What I want is to shine, to make myself known match after match as a nice fighter, to make history a bit. The championship belt will be the next logical step."

Interview by Keyvan NARAGHI

© 2020 AFP