“Dogs are not cats”. This expression takes on its full meaning with Balla Gaye 2. His father Double Less, whose real name is Mamadou Sakho, was already a great champion of combat sports. He was African champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, several times crowned Senegalese judo champion and vice-champion of Africa. Double Less also practiced boxing for many years.
But where Mamadou Sakho left an indelible mark, it is in the world of wrestling. At the height of her glory, his wife gave birth, on December 4, 1986, to a boy whom he named Omar Sakho. Very early on, the young man lost interest in studying and started working in car mechanics.
Despite his training, the son of Double Less will very quickly succumb to the call of his true passion, that by which his father has, in his words, “married” his wife thanks to the royalties drawn: wrestling with strikes. And at the age of 15, he decided to join the Balla Gaye wrestling school, the stable of a former great wrestler who was also its director and trainer. It is the latter who will be the mentor of Omar Sakho who will now be called Balla Gaye 2.
Enjoying unwavering support from those close to him, especially his father, who was aware of his son’s potential, but knew that to reach the heights, abilities alone are not enough, Balla Gaye 2 will fight hard. within his stable, gradually climbing the ranks.
One of his steps to glory led him to “Mbapatt” sessions. Be the winner of a series of one-night no-hit wrestling matches. The exercise requires a perfect blend of physical endurance and technical prowess. Balla Gaye 2 is holding on and each time wins his “Mbapatt”, despite the fact that the opponents he met were twice as tall as him.
His name was starting to gain momentum. He impressed both amateurs and technicians. No doubt for many observers, they are facing a future champion.
The big jump in the fight with strike
Faced with so much feats, the son of Double Less will naturally attract attention and make his baptism of fire in wrestling. It was on the evening of January 2, 2005 that Balla Gaye 2 took his first steps in this popular sport against Samba Laobé. The resident of the Balla Gaye team impresses with his physique and will win in this fight. The child from the Dakar suburbs turns into a feline and becomes the “Lion of Guédiawaye”.
During the same year, Balla Gaye 2 will face five other opponents and not the least: Dame Kandji, Papa Sow, Boulon, Mame Goor Diouf and Saloum-Saloum. There again, the son of Double Less will meet the expectations placed on him, by winning all his fights.
Confident of his form, he faced, on March 12, 2006, Issa Pouye. And it is in a bitterly fought battle that he will concede his first defeat. The wrestler of the Thiaroye team comes to put an end to the dynamic of victories of Balla Gaye 2. A defeat which will not demoralize the “Lion of Guédiawaye” which will soon regain bite, four months later against Bathié Seras , winning in 20 seconds. The son of Double Less returns to chain victories (6 victories from 2006 to 2007) and at the same time takes his revenge against Issa Pouye on July 29, 2007.
His good series will be interrupted on February 8, 2009 by Eumeu Sène. Balla Gaye 2 cannot believe it. He remained seated for several seconds, staring into space, before resigning himself to accepting his new defeat.
This disappointment will not affect Guédiawaye’s child for long. It must be, because the same year (May 3), he faced a living legend of Senegalese wrestling: Moustapha Guèye. A predatory battle pitting a young lion against an experienced tiger. The outcome of the fight will turn to the advantage of the ardor of the youth. Balla Gaye 2 will resume its positive spiral of victories. He will win all his fights, from Modou Lo to Balla Bèye before crossing the path of the King of the arenas, Yékini, on April 22, 2012.
The king is dead, long live the king
Yakhya Diop said “Yékini” was the undisputed king of the arenas at that time. The Serer juggernaut (1.95 m for 135 kg) recorded, before facing Balla Gaye 2, a record of 19 wins and 1 draw in 20 fights. Although closer to the end than the beginning of his career (38 years old in 2012), the leader of the Ndakaaru team was still as formidable as ever. This poster was the dream of all wrestling enthusiasts, from fans to promoters. They fought a merciless battle to get this fight.
It is finally Luc Nicola௠who will win the stake, by putting the package financially on the two wrestlers. Yékini would have touched, for this fight, the tidy sum of 140 million F CFA against 130 million for Balla Gaye 2. An amount that the father of the last city denied with the last energy: “I heard in the press that the stamp of my son against Yékini is 140 million F Cfa. I take issue with this information that appeared in the press last week. This is dead wrong and I will never tell you the exact amount. Whoever wants to know more has only to get closer to the promoter Luc Nicolaà¯. As far as I’m concerned, you can’t count on me. “
All in all, the fight was already tied. The clash of generations will indeed take place. On April 22, 2012, the two wrestlers met in the center of the arena. The tension is at its height. Restless supporters chant the name of their champion. From the fairground atmosphere, a cathedral silence settled immediately after the referee’s whistle announcing the start of the fight. A round of observation of around forty seconds is observed by the combatants, following which hostilities are launched. The two wrestlers will hold on for a minute. Following a maneuver by Balla Gaye 2, Yékini will put his 4 supports on the ground, but the referee does not budge and decides to continue the fight, despite the pressure from the crowd.
The “Lion of Guédiawaye” is not going to despair for all that. He goes on the attack again and with a hold of judo, he overthrows the leader of Ndakaaru in the clearest way. Yékini is confused, he had never tasted defeat. Balla Gaye 2 has measured joy; he is about to taste royalty.
A “bombed” throne
From the suburb of Guédiawaye, Balla Gaye was able to climb the steps to sit on this throne that he had dreamed of since he was little. But the adventure was just beginning for him.
Indeed, his crown attracts the envy of many wrestlers including Tapha Tine. With his previous victory, this fight against the resident of the Baol Mbollo stable will be a formality for the foal of Balla Gaye. Without forcing too much, the lion king will make short work of his opponent, beating him up and pushing him to the ground, even taking the time to sit on him, just to make him understand who the king was. .
The following fight opposed him to Bombardier. After Moustapha Guèye, Tyson and Yékini, Balla Gaye 2 will have to cross swords with one of the last of the mohicans of the arena, on June 8, 2014. According to the forecasts, there was no doubt that the king would keep his crown facing a wrestler at the end of the cycle.
It was without taking into account the aggressiveness of his challenger. The B52 will remove the lion’s fangs by sagging part of its left thigh to the ground. Enough for the referees, to put an end to the fight and give victory to Bombardier. And as misfortune never comes alone, he will again lose against Eumeu Sene, in another confrontation, on April 5, 2015.
Empty passage before the rebirth
Following these two defeats in a row, Balla Gaye 2 spent three years without setting foot on the arena. He finally made his comeback on March 31, 2018 against Gris Bordeaux. Ten years after having defeated the second “Tigre de Fass” (Moustapha Gueye), he once again faces a leader of this team. This fight will turn to the advantage of Balla Gaye 2 who will win by arbitration decision.
A victory which gives confidence to the No. 1 of the Balla Gaye team. He will confirm his good form against Modou Lo on January 13, 2019. Physically hard-pressed, he will literally step on his evening opponent. After four minutes of clinch, Balla Gaye 2 will put an end to the suspense, taking Modou Lo off the ground and throwing him on his back with disconcerting ease.
This victory allowed him to recover and opened the way for revenge against Bombardier, in his fight to regain his crown.
“Balla Gaye 2 is one of the few wrestlers to predict his victories in a given time”
For this fight scheduled for January 1, 2022, Balla Gaye 2 took its preparation very seriously. Under the wing of Aziz Ndiaye for several years now, he is preparing his fights at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (Insep) in Paris.
“He was supervised by professional combat sports and when he came back, we saw him with sparkling form. And it is this Balla that we would like to see. Remember that at one point in his career, he was overweight and he was more or less sick and in bad shape, and they managed to get him back physically. He again has good, fairly prominent musculature. He had two phases of preparation: the first was in Paris and the second was with his team, in particular with his sparring-partners to work on contacts and complete the preparation. And I think it’s a Balla Gaye in full possession of his physical means, ”thinks Malick Thiandoum, sports journalist.
The Senegalese wrestling specialist added that Balla Gaye 2 has expanded its range of abilities in recent years, but should not rest on its laurels. “Balla Gaye 2 is quite an unpredictable person. He is a wrestler who is steeped in qualities. What makes its strength, it is first of all its courage, its audacity, its technique and its capacity of sequence. He is a boy who has a technical panoply that allows him to chain several actions in record time. And he has also shown that in terms of the fight, he has arguments to make, even if he has not yet beaten a wrestler by Ko. A fact that Balla justifies by saying that his opponents do not do not wait for the fight and that is why he does the essential and he leaves. He is one of the few wrestlers to predict his victories in a given time. He has to review his fight and his temper, because sometimes he is quite fiery and he can go into boarding without thinking; something that can cost him dearly against Bombardier. The B52 is not an altar boy; he’s a tough guy, he’s a force of nature, ”warns Malick Thiandoum.
This fight promises to be exciting, because the two wrestlers have a common ambition: to once again wear the crown.
