By James Eakin
This past weekend saw a historic first French Amateur MMA Championships take place at the Gymnase Francois Mauriac in the town of Evry. The 3-day event was originally scheduled to take place between the 16th and 18th of December 2021, but due to the vast number of competitors was moved to the first month of 2022 to accommodate the athletes. The
In order to participate in this landmark event, French athletes had to first complete a grading assessment, of which between three to four hundred participants succeeded in passing, granting them access to the tournament. Due to restrictions regarding Covid-19, each athlete was only allowed one coach, while family and friends were not allowed to attend. After receiving fantastic support from the host city as well as government sporting representatives, the event went ahead with resounding success.
Alongside the athletes, coaching staff and regulatory officials, representatives from promotions such as the UFC and Bellator were in attendance, alongside journalists from French sports magazine L’Equipe and representatives from the French Boxing Federation (FF Boxe). Of the hundreds of athletes that took part, nine French champions were crowned across multiple divisions. Here are the results:
Women’s category – Flyweight (56.7 KG)
Gold – Mathilde Aschenbrenner (NrFight Paris)
Men’s category – Flyweight (56.7 KG)
Gold – Samir Ben Belkacem (Kerner Team)
Men’s category – Bantamweight (61.2 KG)
Gold – Souhel Arezki (NrFight Paris)
Men’s category – Featherweight (65.8 KG)
Gold – Adel Khaldoum (La Bonne Ecole)
Men’s category – Lightweight (70.3 KG)
Gold – Benoit Prigent and Arnaud Prigent (Nr Fight Paris)
Men’s category – Welterweight (77.1 KG)
Gold – Mohamed Baillot (Team Imana)
Men’s category – Middleweight (83.9 KG)
Gold – Nelson Kassende
Men’s category – Light Heavyweight (93 KG)
Gold – Anthony Nantois (Snake Team)
Men’s category – Heavyweight (120 KG)
Gold – Nell Ariano (Team Platinum)
Five of these newly crowned champions will be making their way to Abu Dhabi at the end of the month for the IMMAF Amateur MMA World Championships. Representing France will be:
Mathilde Aschenbrenner – Sr. Flyweight (56.7 KG)
Souhil Arezki – Jr. Bantamweight (61.2 KG)
Arnaud Prigent – Sr. Lightweight (70.3 KG)
Anthony Nantois – Sr. Light Heavyweight (93 KG)
Nell Ariano – Sr. Heavyweight (120 KG)
All these athletes will be looking to claim their spot at the top of the pile in Abu Dhabi and will hope to bring home historic first world championships medals for the country of France. The 2022 World Championships will be broadcast live via IMMAF.TV from the 24th of January.
