Present on the professional circuit since 1993, Antony Réa will celebrate his 30 years of career at HEXAGONE MMA 8. At 46 years old, he is getting ready to fight one of his last battles, at home.
Even if he is not the type to brag about it, Antony Réa is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of French MMA. With 53 professional fights to his credit, fought in about twenty different countries, the southerner now intends to close his martial arts chapter in the most beautiful way, in Béziers, almost 30 years after his debut. “I started my career in 1993, so this year I want to come a full circle. It’s kind of a last stand”, he explained. It’s also an opportunity to fight in the modernized MMA way, very different from the time when I discovered the sport at the end of the 20th century. “I come from Kenpo and Pankido. My first free fight was before the creation of the UFC! At that time, it was really underground. It was far away from today’s standardization and hype. There were few events and few fighters. In France, there must have been 15 or 20 of us fighting regularly abroad. It was a microcosm.” However, at the dawn of the 2000s, Antony Réa managed to secure a place for himself in this field, which is not very kind to “little Frenchmen” like him.
“I want to show that even at my age, one can still perform”.
AFC, Cage Rage, Jungle Fight, KSW, BAMMA… For years, he went from one prestigious promotion to another, facing several renowned figures of the discipline, such as Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort. “Obviously, I feel very different than I did at that time. I can see that I have gained 20 years,” he smiles today. “But on the other hand, it’s not just a physical sport – I’m much more experienced and better at managing myself. I want to send a message and show that at my age, you can still perform. Also, this is a way to put martial arts values back at the center of the debate. “I think that martial arts is not just a button to turn on when you enter the tatami or the cage. It dictates how we are in life. A martial artist, he can have all the attitude he wants, but when he sees an elderly person on a sidewalk, he’s the one who steps aside.”
