Tahar Hadbi, David Bear, Abdoul Abdouraguimov, Mehdi Baghdad

While France is home to some of the best mixed martial artists in the world, the practice of MMA as a sport is illegal in the country. Some of the best French MMA fighters are currently signed in the Bahrain-based MMA promotion Brave Combat Federation.

France has taken an important step towards the regulation of MMA. The practice of the sport will be legal in the country starting January 1, 2020.

Reigning Brave CF Welterweight World Champion Abdoul “The Conqueror” Abdouraguimov, 23, of France has been elated by the news. He was born in Dagestan, Russia and spent his childhood in Germany before he and his family relocated to Nantes, France.

Abdouraguimov has called Brave CF to organize an event in Brave CF, which the promotion’s president Mohammed Shahid admitted as a possibility. The promotion is venturing in Europe again this year with “Brave 24: London,” set to take place in London, England on July 25, 2019.

“The legalization of MMA in France is great news for everyone,” Shahid stated. “I always believed in the importance of Europe as a whole in making mixed martial arts a truly global sport and France legalizing it is a big step forward for France as well as for the sport of MMA. France has been on our radar for some time and it’s nice to know a huge avenue has opened up for the development of MMA in Europe.”

In France, the MMA commission is called the Commission Française de Mixed Martial Arts. Its current chairman is former International Mixed Martial Arts Federation president Bertrand Amoussou.

The news about the legalization of MMA in France delighted Amoussou as it proved that the efforts made by his team paid off. He thanked Brave CF for the well-wishes.

“This is a game changer for MMA,” Amoussou said. “Me and my team have been working for so long on this. We have been waiting for the legalization of mixed martial arts for 15 years.”

“French MMA students will now have proper coaches with proper official qualification to teach,” the CFMMA chairman continued. “We can now organize a national championship and see big events happening in Paris and around. It’s a big day for French MMA and we thank you for the support”.

Aside from Abdouraguimov, Brave has some of the finest fighters coming out of France on its roster, such as Mehdi “The Sultan” Baghdad, 34, David Bear, 27, and Tahar “Fast Hands” Hadbi, 31. Meanwhile, here is a “Brave 24: London” promo: