INTERVIEW – The Franco-Cameroonian kickboxing legend converted to MMA is publishing a book to tell his story. The opportunity to confide in Figaro on its notoriety, its relationship to sport, to violence, to its need for an audience, its objectives, its paradoxes.
The FIGARO. – Why release a book so early in your MMA career? Do you expect it to be brief?
Cédric DOUMBÉ. – I have been told this several times. It’s true that we usually release a book at the end of our career. I decided to do it because I don’t like to be like everyone else. And also because we don’t know what tomorrow brings. I could just do it. If necessary for the end of career there will be a second part.
Is using writing a way to express yourself more calmly, to get to the bottom of things, you who are gifted orally?
I usually express myself on Snapchat, Instagram, etc… These videos last twenty-four hours. This is a book that will stay with you for a lifetime. It’s a way to say everything I wanted and freeze it. It’s a format where I’m not censored, where I can express myself freely and fully. Anyone who is not interested always has the choice not to read it.
Mababout Editions.
Do you feel the risk of being locked into a character? As you are known for being funny and creative, if you express yourself differently there is a risk of disappointing. Is there pressure to be entertaining all the time?
No, I don’t think I locked myself into that character because it’s my personality. There are several things that make people like me. People see me as a funny guy, but also as a competent, talented athlete. I am also seen as a human committed in particular against violence against women. I think people already know these different sides of me, they won’t be surprised to see me more serious in this book.
Why has MMA succeeded in France where kickboxing or Thai boxing failed, that is to say, breaking through the wall of the general public?
It’s very difficult to explain. I think it simply has to do with the United States and our constant following. MMA is known there and has had a considerable place there for a very long time. What is certain is that it exploded in France just after legalization. Before there was already a bit of MMA, we called it pankration. But people didn’t care, they wanted MMA! The wait was already there. Once it was legalized the public flocked and we discovered the talents we already had.
MMA, to a layman, is simply fighting. And everyone likes a fight. Everyone wants to see two gladiators face each other and fight each other
Cédric Doumbé
Why do ordinary boys now need to test themselves in combat sports? In the 1990s-2000s, Thai boxing was an extreme sport reserved for a niche.
Thai boxing is a very specific sport. MMA, to a layman, is simply fighting. And everyone likes a fight. Everyone wants to see two gladiators face each other and compete. We like to see the best of both come out, we like to imagine who will be the strongest, to bet in our head on a fighter, to get attached to him, to encourage him, to see who wins. We love to hate, too. This is all primary. The cult of strength is in everyone.
Perhaps this is where MMA differs from other combat sports where you have to know rules and have a deep interest in order to enjoy it; for MMA there is no real need to know the rules and the sport to know who has the advantage standing on the ground. This is what makes it a universal combat sport, no matter where you come from, no matter what language you speak.
FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Is this combat sports football?
It’s a bit like that. And still, in some countries we don’t care about football. Whereas fighting is universal. Even…
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