RFI
Manon Fiorot, the new ambassador of the French MMA to the UFC
On January 20, 2021, in Abu Dhabi, Menon Fiorot faces American Victoria Leonardo in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the most prestigious mixed martial arts (MMA) league in the world. The 30-year-old fighter is only the second French female player in the UFC. pay attention. “it’s a dream. This was my goal since I started MMA. »On January 20, 2021, Manon Fiorot is preparing to become the second franchise in history after Zara Fearn dos Santos to play in the Ultimate Fighting Martial Arts League (MMA) Final Fighting Championship (UFC). ) In the world, the next logical step for a fighter is linear with progress because it is faster. “I already have three world titles, so it was time to go to the UFC,” she explains. Especially since I started MMA late and I am already 30 years old. It was now or never. This was the right time. However, the former snowboard champion, Menon Fiorot, could take a different route, as he was the champion in the youth field in snowboarding, the slipping game. “Life found me in a sport study in the mountains, she puts it in perspective. There was snowboarding and I tried my hand at this discipline. I was absolutely shocked. “But later the woman returned to her first passion. “I started karate at the age of 7,” she says. There was a club next to the house. And my father practiced wrestling. We were already swimming a little in combat sports. I loved karate, I watched karate movies. And my friends practiced karate. “After several years on the tatami mat, the interested party entered the ring for K-1 and Thai boxing fights, two games in which it quickly excelled. A delicate debut in MMA. “At the same time, I started MMA. »A path into the world of mixed martial arts, initially fragile. “Maybe I wanted to go too fast,” she says. I went straight to the World Amateur Championship [en 2016, Ndlr]Even though I had not been practicing MMA for a year. The beginning was a bit complicated. Got defeated. “But, in the final at the 2017 European Amateur Championships, a few months later, Menon Fiorot retried globally. Finally with a gold medal, this time, this success in the 2017 Worlds came to rest, then he started in the professional world. She certainly lost her first pro battle, in Belgium in June 2018, within Cage Warriors, a British organization. But this setback is just a parenthesis. In South African reality TV show 2019, a change of destination and scenery. Menon Fierot flies to Johannesburg, to participate in a reality TV show hosted by the number one MMA League’s Extreme Fighting Championships (EFC) in Africa. “It was my manager who found this opportunity, especially thanks to my title of amateur world champion,” who trains on the boxing team at Nees (South of France). But, to be honest, I didn’t want to be in that type of show at all. Also, I did not know English. I was under super stress. I knew that I was going to spend two months in South Africa. It was a complicated experience to live, but in the end, I was successful. The winner of the game, Manon Fiorot, signed a contract at the EFC, where he wasted no time in becoming queen. In December 2019, he clearly dominates MMA icon South African Amanda Lino in his country. “He was the star of South Africa. Everyone was shouting ‘Amanda’ during this fight! At the time, the stand still had spectators. It is a very good memory. In the United Arab Emirates, Manon Fiorot became EFC World Champion. After this coronation, he attacked another pro-UAE based organization, the UAE Warriors. Their record in this league? Three wins by technical performance in 2020, in the form of multiple performances, and gained greater confidence before the UFC tackle, especially since their debut in the Sacred Realms of MMA will be in the UAE in January 2021. “This is the fourth time in a row I’ve fought here. I say he is very comfortable. I do not withstand the impact of the jet lag, unlike my opponent.” At UFC Fight Island 8, he will face American Victoria Leonardo. An opponent whose qualities don’t affect her. No more than her status as the second Frenchwoman in the UFC. “I’m focused on my fight. I don’t really think about all that, sweep Manon Fiorot. Now that I’m there, my goal will be to win my next fights and get into the top 10 as quickly as possible “. An elite at flightweight, where she believes she has” [sa] Place, widely ”.
