In love with jiu-jitsu, Abu Tounkara has made a name for himself by inflicting the most efficient K-Os in the cage. If strategy can sometimes fail him, his sense of showmanship is no longer to be proven: Once in the spotlight, it is his instinct that takes the lead every time. His next demonstration of this will be on June 17 at HEXAGONE MMA 9.

At the time when MMA was called “free fighting”, Abu Tunkara was not one of its biggest followers – far from it.
“It wasn’t a sport I was interested in,” he recalls. “But one day in my neighbourhood, my friends were playing the video game UFC 2009 on the console, and out of curiosity, I invited myself to join in on the game. When I got home, I started looking up the names of the fighters on the internet, and as I carried on, I became passionate. It went from there. “
Would he have embraced such a course if he hadn’t grabbed that controller? Nothing can be proven, but no matter how flukily his choice of career came about, Abu Tunkara is now in the right place.
“When I joined my first club, I started straight away with MMA. Then, quite quickly, I moved towards jiu-jitsu, to perfect my ground game. Today, I would even say that I am more passionate about grappling than MMA.”

“It would be more reasonable to go to the ground”

A holder of a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the 33-year-old fighter has never submitted any opponent in a professional fight. On the contrary, he has acquired six of his eight wins by K-O.
“In fact, it’s my instinct that talks for me. It would be more reasonable to go to the ground, but when I enter the cage, I am immediately attracted to boxing.”
And if it is his approach to the fight has always sparked much discussion, Abu Tunkara’s weight is no longer debated. A very athletic fighter by nature, he chose to move to lightweight, after several forays into the lower category.
“The weight loss was very difficult, and it played on my performance since I injured myself twice in fights. From now on, I will stay at -70 kg. I am undefeated at this weight! »