This past Wednesday, the French Sports Ministry announced new rules for combat sports in the country which include the banning of cage in MMA events. These have effectively eliminated MMA in the country of France.
For a quick overview, some of the rules the French Sports Ministry passed are the aforementioned banning of the cage, the disallowing of any kind of strikes on the ground, all fights must happen in a ring. The unified rules of MMA that major promotions in North America use were put into effect as well.
Bellator MMA veteran Karl Amoussou, who has longed for professional MMA to come to his home country of France, was heated after the new rules were announced.
“The Ministry takes us for idiots. All countries have recognized MMA in Europe, except France and Norway. I hoped it would not come to this, but the CFMMA will launch a legal action to contest this decree,” Amoussou stated to MMA Junkie.
Another Bellator MMA veteran and UFC veteran, Cheick Kongo, also talked about the new rules passed by his home country.
“People think … it’s a messy sport just for bullies, or people (who fight) with no skills,” he said to MMA Junkie. “We’ve got no respect, no control, no anything. No rules. And they keep the old UFC in mind. When we have the time to share a good discussion about the subject, they will learn and realize that we’re just different.”
The rules can always be changed just about any time the French Sports Ministry comes together for meetings, so these rules are not permanent necessarily.
