Somewhere in the depths of Sweden, in the middle of a disused hockey field, two men face each other as they walk towards each other. One has his body covered in tattoos, the other displays a youthful face. Nearly ten years separate the two men. “At that point, it’s kill or be killed,” explains Hamza, the younger of the two, from Bordeaux. After this little moment when you ask yourself “but what am I doing here”, instinct takes over”.
And for good reason the Kings of the Streets (KOTS) uses what is most animal in the fighters who participate. No rule, time limit, gloves or referee, only two “warriors” who face each other and where only the abandonment or the K.-O. end the fight. This first Hamza fight, in June 2022, will end in a victory by K.-O. technical, but the two men will end up covered in blood. “It was the happiest moment of my life, no one gave me a win,” he recalls.
“At first, it seemed a bit barbaric to me”
Hamza Allal is however a fan of combat sports. He has been following the path of his father, a boxer, for ten years now. “I started with muay-thai, today I train every day, or almost. After a few fights at YFC, he heard about KOTS from a friend. “At first, it seemed a bit barbaric to me, then I was seduced by the atmosphere that reigns there, you don’t find it anywhere else. »
Often, the organization is popular with hooligans from all over Europe, some of whom fight for their political ideas. “There are sometimes fights between fascists and anti-fascists or between hooligans, but always well trained in combat”, explains the one who joined the Gironde capital in 2018. He defines himself as “apolitical” and is not really into football so it was only accompanied by his trainer that he crossed Europe to represent France in a car park or on a disused hockey field.
Illegal, but not amateurs
“It’s very well organized, we pay for the plane tickets and the hotel, then we learn the same day we fight. “Only a few spectators are on the edge of the makeshift “rings”: members of the organization, trainers or fighters waiting their turn. “There are always qualified medics and cars available to transport fighters to the nearest hospital. »
“Each of the KOTS fighters will pocket at least between 500 and 1,000 euros if he wins, I don’t know if I have the right to say the exact sum”, explains the man nicknamed the Inquisitor. The economic model is simple: a paid platform allows you to watch the fights live and bet on a future winner. With more than a million subscribers on YouTube, the organization can also count on sponsorship contracts.
Defeated in his second fight last March, Hamza will leave the illegal rings for the octagon. On June 17, he will participate in the MMA GP at the Arkéa Arena in Bordeaux.