French
Evolution : Part 3
By
Droc 14 January 2004
Courting
Controversy
Love them or
hate them, you can't talk about French fighters without mentioning the Riccio
brothers from Perpignan. Back when they made the progression from street
fights to MMA these 2 brothers took a trip to Japan to train and fight in Shooto
at under 77Kgs. Having assimilated as much knowledge as they could, the
brothers came back to France and set about competing in Europe only to suffer
injuries in a traffic accident that kept them out of competition for over
2 years. When they came back they had shot up in weight. Though both fighters
stand less than 5'9" they have weighed in over 80Kg every time they've fought
and often faced opponents over 100Kg.
Undoubtedly
the more controversial of the 2 brothers, Damien is also the smaller but has also
fought the biggest opponents. Having chalked up wins in the UK and
with old style Vale Tudo Rules in the Czech Republic Damien Blew out his knee
fighting against the 100Kg plus Mikko Rupponen forcing him to take 6 months off
from fighting. His come back took place in the Czech Republic with another
win against another heavier opponent, 205lber Josef Zak. Not content giving
up almost 10Kgs Damien then took on 100Kg/220lb Alessio Sakara losing by decision.
A week later all of the controversy started.
Robin,
youngest brother of the famous Gracie family, was holding a seminar in Perpignan,
Damien saw this as an opportunity to test himself against one of his hero’s.
Damien challenged Robin to a match. Unaware that Damien was a professional fighter
Robin confidently took the fight. 11 minutes into a match that saw Damien bleeding
heavily above his eye Robin gassed and ended the match.
One
of the BJJ students attending the seminar claimed victory for Riccio and announced
it on Internet forums worldwide before releasing a video. A series of verbal exchanges
and threats ensued between members of the Riccio family and member of the Gracie
family until some weeks later Robin, Royce and a group of their students arrived
at the bar/Restaurant where Damien works. What exactly happened in the bar we'll
probably never know, one side of the story says Robin fought Damien 1 on 1 and
was winning until someone fired a gunshot, the other says that Robin attacked
Damien, Damien dropped him with a hook, was attacked by all of his students and
then chased them off with a club and his 14 year old brother got hurt in the melee.
Hospital
and Police reports were released on forums and the Internet, stories and harsh
words were exchanged and the world and its mother took sides.
Some
time passed then Damien Riccio appeared once again on the card for Ultimate Combat,
he's taking part in a Light Heavy Weight tournament despite weighing in under
the limit for Middle Weight. This time there's a lot of hype, apparently he intends
to call out Royce Gracie at the show. Interviews are published giving his side
of the story and live at the show, after winning his fight, Damien challenged
Royce to a match to mixed reactions. What didn't get mixed reactions was what
happened later at the show. A confrontation occurred between the Riccios and a
girlfriend of one of the fighters. Again stories ran rampant all over the Internet,
each side with a different version but this time the public came out solidly against
Riccio.
Matthias, while as talented
a fighter as his brother, doesn't court as much controversy. After 2 losses in
Shooto and the almost 2 year gap in his career he came to the UK and beat 2 opponents,
both by submission, both heavier than him. After 3 consecutive losses he comes
back to avenge one of them in the first round of a tournament in Croatia before
getting stopped on a cut in the second leg. Matthias began to concentrate on his
standup and managed to get a K1 fight in the US at the end of 2003 and gave a
good showing despite again being outweighed.
From
humble beginnings France is firmly establishing itself as one of the powers on
MMA in Europe and perhaps the world, I'm glad to be a part of it.
