Like every winter, Cyrille Diabaté begins the year in Thailand where the fighters of the Snake Team, the MMA club he manages in Epinay-sur-Seine, carry out a refresher course, especially in Muay-Thai. An essential figure in French MMA (30 pro fights, including 8 at the UFC), the coach talks about the news in his discipline by telephone and is about to be finally recognized.
How do you welcome the decision of the Ministry of Sports to offer support for mixed martial arts by a delegated federation, in this case boxing?
Cyrille Diabaté: This is very good news and a real step forward. We had been waiting for this for 20 years and we did not see things moving forward in concrete terms. Now we will be able to really work on the creation of a future MMA federation.
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Were you surprised that the choice of ministry fell on the French Boxing Federation?
It was not the most obvious choice. We expected more from the French Wrestling Federation or the FFKMDA (French Federation of Kick Boxing, Muay Thai and associated disciplines) who have been working for a very long time on a watered-down version between quotes from MMA (without strikes on the ground) and who did a good job. But why not ? The Boxing Federation put together a really complete crazy folder that answered all of the questions. Boxing is an Olympic sport with structures established for a very long time in France. Its Professional League part also played in its favor for the organization of future MMA competitions. From the moment the green light is given by the ministry to the delegating federation, it is up to it to prove itself. I know those who will take care of MMA at the FFB. If we have to get involved and help them, we will be able to do it. The hardest part is behind us.
What are the priority projects?
First of all, it is necessary to structure this sport with the real actors of MMA, that there is no favoritism, people placed by different lobbies. It has to be honest and transparent. Second, priority should be given to amateur sport, not business. People talk about the UFC all the time, but 99.9% of practitioners are not there. They are in small suburban rooms like mine to sweat anonymously and out of passion.
You have also been campaigning for a long time for the creation of a state diploma specific to MMA…
It is absolutely necessary to supervise the practice and avoid drifts. We are working on this future diploma, the training protocols and the skeleton of a future federation for years, notably through the Alliance française du MMA, the French MMA commission and the MMA Observatory launched by the government in 2016. There has been an artistic blur around MMA for too long. Kung fu teachers who invent a life as an MMA instructor for example, we don't want it anymore. On the competition side, we have people who are competent enough to organize MMA galas. Hundreds of pancrace meetings, which is very close to MMA but without the ground strikes, took place without the slightest problem. It is enough to add the blows to the ground which, it must be repeated and insist, are less powerful and do less damage than the standing blows, and its organizers can perfectly organize MMA fights.
“For 20 years, we have been tinkering. Even if we exported well with results in the biggest leagues in the world, it was with the means at hand "
What will this MMA recognition actually change for your club, the Snake Team?
It will change everything! For 20 years, we have been tinkering. Even if we exported well with results in the biggest world leagues like the UFC, the Bellator or the Rizin in Japan, it was with the means at hand. We are enthusiasts in a suburban room who use the small means at their disposal to grow at this level. Tomorrow, a real MMA market will open in France with rooms, franchises, brands, sponsors. A whole lot of things which did not exist until then and which will allow the high level sportsmen to evolve in the best conditions and to finally fight in competition at home.
Are you prepared for a possible influx of new practitioners?
The Snake Team welcomes 150 fighters and has real know-how. We have been training leisure and professional practitioners (around ten) for 20 years, with qualified instructors in the various disciplines. This know-how will be worth something. Creating a Snake Team franchise has been one of my projects for a long time. I was waiting for this legalization to set up things that were only dreams until then. As long as there is an MMA section at INSEP within 2/3 years, we will have all the possible elements to really explode at the global level.
What are the pitfalls to avoid?
If the Federation that will host MMA does things correctly, I do not think there is any danger in sport. The sport is already ultra framed with draconian regulations. If everything is done according to the rules of the art and that the actors of French MMA have the right to sit at the table with enough weight, I have no fear. The only danger would be that people try to appropriate MMA for financial reasons. I'm a little scared of that.
“There are always egos, affinities and people who don't necessarily love each other. But the end goal is to have an MMA federation in a few years ”
Often divided, are the different chapels of French MMA now one body?
I will not lie to you. There are always egos, affinities and people who don't necessarily love each other. But the end goal is to have an MMA federation in a few years. We are aware that we must move in the same direction. There will never be enough arms and motivated people to reach our goal. Our cohesion will give a little more strength to the French boxing federation.
You fought at the UFC. How does this major MMA organization perceive the French market?
Ten years ago, France already represented a promising market for the UFC. Since then, its audience figures have only increased and the UFC wants to continue to invest with us. A first UFC or Bellator event in France will boost MMA. With its first French stars finally evolving on their territory, MMA will become one of the five major sports in France in a very short time.
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