Amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) fights in front of more than 1,000 people, sometimes broadcast by a television channel: in Rennes, a former athlete wants to “give exposure” to the most promising young people to help them pass professionals. “I want to give them exposure (…) and later, to be able to accompany them in their professional career”, explains Rennais Willy Sirope, titled world champion of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (JJB) in 2019.
“Converted to events”, he set up an MMA championship in September 2022, the AEF Championship. Three editions have already been held in Rennes. The AEF is a “pioneer” in France, alongside the “MMA League” competitions of the French Mixed Martial Arts Federation (FMMAF) attached to the French Boxing Federation.
MMA, combining foot/fist boxing techniques, wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, was only allowed to compete in France in January 2020, suffering from a “sulphurous image” due to its supposed violence.
“For the first edition, we gave a platform to fighters from three Rennes clubs, but also from Brest and Saint-Brieuc”, slips the 40-year-old promoter, who has not hung up the kimono. For the second edition, in February, the fights were broadcast live by the RMC Sport television channel, via the Twitch streaming platform.
Willy Sirope was “already in touch” with the columnist of the chain Jonathan Machardy, blue belt of JJB. “I offered him a grappling fight in the evening (a wrestling discipline including submission techniques, editor’s note). And it is a little thanks to him that we were able to have the support of RMC Sport, ”he adds.
The enthusiasm aroused by the galas attracts pros in the discipline, who become their “godfathers”, including Benoît Saint-Denis, who fights in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the first world organization based in the United States. “There is a little apprehension but it boosts you and it energizes you,” says Louis Banhiet, 24, an amateur met during training at the Club de la Rennes Combat Association (RCA).
The young man, who trains “almost every day” in parallel with his activity as a delivery driver, took part in two meetings of the AEF. “They know that there is a before and an after, because the image and the spectacle, it gives them a platform”, explains Willy Sirope.
The Breton promoter explains “finding sponsors” for certain deserving fighters so that they can go and train abroad. And at the same time, he says he has “been contacted” by the organizers of the first professional gala in Brittany, the “King of Fighters” (KOF). The event, which took place on June 30 in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, was promoted in association with Jérôme Le Banner, multiple kickboxing world champion.
If Willy Sirope is “not in the organization”, he nevertheless claims to have “helped to place” fighters on the map. When he was offered, Fatih Tiroglu, 22, “accepted directly”, with a smile on his face, “to fight on the same card as Oumar Sy”. Oumar Sy, 27, is under contract with KSW, the first European MMA organization based in Poland, and is expected to join the UFC.
In a room of 4,500 people two-thirds full, Fatih Tiroglu won by unanimous decision over an opponent from Normandy. “The goal now is to focus on the MMA League without abandoning the galas for the show side, and then going professional,” says the slender young man after his victory.
By the end of the year, Willy Sirope wants to “open up to the professional world”, in parallel with the amateur galas where “the level is rising” gradually. “We are already starting to bring in the top French and the top Belgian, like the vice-champion of Europe Patrick Habirora, so some amateurs who are with us are almost pros”, rejoices the promoter.
