The meteoric (albeit late) rise of Rima Ayadi, champion of France and continental WBA

Better late than never ! If the prodigy Cyril Gane only came late – 24 years – to MMA before shining there (he is the first French UFC champion), his compatriot Rima Ayadi did even better: while she only started the boxing that in 2016, at (already) 26, she is now 2020 French champion and 2021 WBA continental champion in the super featherweight category!

” I gave my life in the ring against a girl much better than me”

Rima explains with confusing naturalness her late revelation: “I was 20 kg overweight, I was an Uber driver (at night) and a waitress when I started Thai boxing. At the first punch in the bag, it was a release! I said to myself: ‘OK, you have to register!'” Two months of training later, she won her first competition on the nerve: “I had no technique but I was very determined, so I gave my life in the ring against a much better girl than me”.

Her next goal is “qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics”, she enthuses. In the meantime, this young woman, well in her body and in her mind, has created the association Premier round, “which aims to develop as much as possible the practice of boxing in the districts, in particular among young people but also women, because that I felt that it had brought me a lot of benefits”.

Discover his dazzling journey in this video from our partner Brut.