Fabrice Fairtex Delannon (©ONE Championship)

“The Funky Drummer” Fabrice Fairtex Delannon, 36, is regarded as one of the best Muay Thai practitioners to come out of France. Among the martial artists he considers his inspirations are Roy Jones Jr., Mike Tyson and Jacobin Yoma.

Growing up moving back and forth from French Guiana and France, Delannon found an appreciation for the sport of boxing. As a fan of the sport known as the Sweet Science, he looked up to a pair of boxing’s biggest names.

“When I was young, it was Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson,” Delannon shared. “I was seven years old when I saw Tyson on TV, defending his world titles. That was a huge inspiration to me.”

Delannon’s appreciation for the sport led him to the boxing gym at age 12 and with Tyson and Jones as his main inspirations, he worked tirelessly to develop as a pugilist. Just two years after first putting on a pair of boxing gloves, he took part in his first amateur bout.

The bout ended in a stalemate but it was indeed the start of what would be a long and fruitful journey into martial arts. Like all aspiring athletes, Delannon eventually yearned to be the best in his field.

“When I was 15 and boxing as an amateur, I dreamed of being a world champion,” Delannon stated. Adding fuel to his desire was seeing one of his countrymen actually get that far and after looking up to established names like Tyson and Jones, he made fellow French Guianese boxer Jacobin Yoma as his source of inspiration.

“I saw one guy, Jacobin Yoma, do it,” Delannon said. “I saw him succeed and win the world title. I thought that if he can do it, I could make it.”

Yoma was a super featherweight boxer who competed from 1989 to 1999, putting together a professional boxing record of 40 wins, 11 losses and 3 draws with 21 wins via knockout. During his career, he captured regional titles, as well as EBU and WBC championships.

Delannon has won world championships in two weight divisions, as well as a former Gold and Silver Belt titleholder and a three-time MAX Muay Thai World Champion. With a professional record of 55 wins and 10 losses to go with all those accolades, the highly decorated French-Guianese striker is a master in his chosen craft.

On September 22, 2018, Delannon will return to the ONE Championship stage at “ONE: Conquest of Heroes” in Jakarta, Indonesia. He will take on a fellow Muay Thai master in six-time world champion Yodpanomrung “The Lightning Knee” Jitmuangon of Thailand in a ONE Super Series Bantamweight Muay Thai bout.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.