Yoann Kongolo

Combat sports entered the life of young Yoann after a bad experience. Beaten by a bigger boy when he was a kid, he ended up in the hospital. Determined to take revenge, he turned to karate.

"Fortunately, my sensei, my master, the karate Mamadou Diallo, 7th dan, placed me in the martial line, taught me to master my emotions and energy," he laughs.

Eighteen years of karate practice followed before he moved into harder-contact forms of fighting. He was working as a trainee warehouse logistics manager before progressing into professional fighting full-time.

"Today, I almost feel love for my aggressor. It was thanks to him that I discovered all this, that I was able to evolve like that," he says.

Watch when Kongolo enters and you will see him crouched for a moment near the ring before he gets between the ropes.

"I enjoy the moment, the place where I am. And this is a moment of prayer. I am a believer. "Then it is the entrance into the light. What I feel at this point is indescribable. The impression of being a demi-god. I am transported, I absorb the energy of the public. The more hostile the environment, the stronger I feel.”