Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Tuesday November 21, 2023 at 7:45 p.m.
According to the media Tokyo Sport, Teddy Riner refused a check for 15 million euros from the UFC. The judoka is not ready to start MMA.
At 34, Teddy Riner is obviously closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and the judoka has perhaps already started thinking about his career change. There is no doubt that there will be no shortage of proposals, and he has even already received one, while he is fully focused on preparing for the Paris Olympic Games. According to the media Tokyo Sport, the French Olympic champion would have been offered a check for 15 million euros to enter the UFC, the largest MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) League. But the native of Pointe-à-Pitre declined the offer. “I have to concentrate on judo. We already get hurt a lot… My goal is to win the Games and beat the best in my discipline“, replied Riner, currently interning in Japan, to local media.
Riner: “Punching and kicking people in the face is not my thing”
In 2015, the judoka mentioned MMA in an interview with L’Equipe Magazine : “MMA came to me. With big tickets. It doesn’t interest me, it doesn’t correspond to my values. I respect these fighters, but taking punches and kicks in the face is not isn’t my thing, nor is giving it away. I am aware that we have to live with the times and that MMA is fashionable, but it will be without me“. Eight years later, Teddy Riner still seems to have the same opinion, and as he does not close the door to participation in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, MMA will still have to wait before trying to convince him. While waiting for California, the French judoka is doing everything possible to win a fourth Olympic gold medal in Paris. We have not seen him in competition since last May and his eleventh world champion title won in Doha, but Riner got into the habit of having few fights in order to be ready on D-Day. And it is on Friday August 2 that all of France will be waiting for him.
2023-11-21 18:55:08
#Riner #allegedly #refused #million #euros #UFC
