Although MMA is not exactly illegal in France, they still face some political struggles. There are no specific laws to prevent the practice, but the government uses a recommendation of the European Council, issued in 1999 to prevent any competition to happen. The government makes two specific points to prevent the practice: the cage-like shape of the ring, which would be an affront to human dignity, and the fact that the fight allows striking the opponent on ground.

Training MMA or owning an MMA gym is perfectly fine, but in order to fight on an event, they are not allowed to follow one of the most authentic characteristics of mixed martial arts: the ground and pound. Therefore, to be able to organize an MMA event, they find an alternative as they use the rules from Pancrase, where striking the opponent on the ground is forbidden.

On September 19th of 2015, the first MMA event under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, called the World Warriors Fighting Championship, took place at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris. Thereby, they created a legal precedent in order to fully introduce MMA events in the French soil.

This video shows a Lyon Fighting Championship bout between Sofiane Benchohra and Olivier Fontaine in Lyon, France. The fight started with an inside leg kick by Fontaine, followed by a combination of a body kick and punches, that did not land. Benchohra reacted with a low kick, but got caught with another body kick and more punch combinations.

Fontaine attempted a high kick, but Benchohra caught his leg, holding it, which made Fontaine use this adversity as a powerful tool, as he reversed it into a beautiful flying armbar that made his opponent tap. This spectacular submission was nominated for the best submission of the year of 2013 at the Fighters Only Magazine – World MMA Awards.

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Source: RFI