This will be a seismic weekend for mixed martial arts. A time of groundbreaking change after much heavy lifting for Bellator MMA. The walls have been breached. There was talk of liberty here in Paris yesterday. A revolution of sorts.
After much lobbying, political and sporting, this is the first time that an MMA event has been licenced in France, with Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu having lifted restrictions that have been hanging over the fighting arts in that country since MMA's inception in 1993.
Heavyweight home comer Cheick Kongo admitted it would be "emotional to fight" in France, Michael 'Venom' Page promised to deliver "another showstopper" and Bellator MMA president Scott Coker thanked joint efforts in the mixed martial arts world for "delivering the sport to the final frontier" as the ban on MMA events inFrance heralds a new dawn on Saturday night.
"We are delighted to bring Bellator to one of the very famous arenas in the world which has staged some very big martial arts fights. But not mixed martial arts," explained Coker, head of the company which is owned by VIACOM/CBS and has the backing to grow from CEO and President Bob Bakish.
"When we started this journey (to help legalise MMA in France) - we weren't the only ones, lots of companies were lobbying - and the ban on MMA was lifted, COVID-19 had not started but the pandemic did not change our journey to want to come here for this important event," added Coker.
It is the realisation of a dream for headliner and heavyweight Kongo, born in Paris, and a stalwart of the sport who has fought 43 times in seven countries on three continents over nineteen years. He will rematch American Timothy Johnson.
"This is huge for all fighters from France," said Kongo. "For the next decade the next generation coming into the sport will grow and grow and grow. It's going to be quite an emotional experience for me on Saturday night. But the good vibes I have had from so many people from so many places means I can guarantee you that this is going to be explosive. I'm going to be like a firecracker."
Coker added: "As far as planet MMA goes, and new territories, an event in France is like coming to the final frontier. It was a task to get MMA approved and that means this is a special moment and a special event. This really was the final frontier. The industry will grow in France as it has in Italy where we have been several times. The growth from just a couple of fighters to an industry can be very quick. It happened in Italy, the same will happen in France. Now there is an underlying drive and fire for those involved. We will continue to help the process to get this sport onto French television as well, which will come next."
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