Karl Amoussou is one of M-1Global’s brightest stars for the future. Recently being chosen as Europe’s number 1 prospect on Sherdog.com, Amoussou is now looking for his big break and the chance to test himself against the best fighters on the biggest shows. Negotiations with Dream and Strikeforce are on going but things look bright for the French fighter. M-1Global.com recently sat down with Amoussou to discuss the future, MMA in France, and his goals for the upcoming year
M-1 Global: We last watched you fight on August 28th at M-1Global: Breakthrough, what have you been up to since?
Karl Amoussou: I’ve been training and it’s going very well, I’m trying to improve my skills every day; I train 5 or 6 times a week because I work as a policeman at night throughout the week, but I train every afternoon in quite good conditions at my gym “haute tension”
M-1 Global: Do you have any fights scheduled in the near future?
Karl Amoussou: For the moment I have nothing waiting for me but I hope to have some good news soon.
M-1 Global: What are you goals this year and for the year 2010?
Karl Amoussou: My goals are to beat some top fighters in a top organization like DREAM or M-1/Strikeforce .
M-1 Global: What do you view as your strengths and weakness?
Karl Amoussou: My strengths are my controlled aggression, my judo background, ground and pound and my stand up (Muay Thai). I think that I’m a complete fighter. My weakness are secret but you can trust me, I work hard to better them. I think that when I correct them I’ll improve my level a lot
M-1 Global: What’s your ultimate goal/dream in life?
Karl Amoussou: Be healthy and become champion of a highly respected organization.
M-1 Global: Why did you start training M.M.A.?
Karl Amoussou: I started training MMA after having done 16 years of judo. If you are a real fighter you want to step to the plate and face other complete fighters to see who really is the best. I watched a DVD of Pride Dynamite and saw Wanderlei Silva fight and I said to myself “This guy is brutal, he will kick my ass and with all my judo experience he still will destroy me, this guy is a complete fighter”. I left judo to become a more complete and strong fighter.
M-1 Global: M.M.A. is still illegal in France, when will this change?
Karl Amoussou: I really don’t know, French politicians think that M.M.A. are two animals forced to step in a cage and that there are no rules and that only one will survive. Maybe I’m exaggerating a little but the thing is M.M.A. has a bad image. They think that two street fighters without any technique fight each other. They don’t understand that the fighters are real athletes who work hard train and fight. On the ground you have a lot of possibilities to defend and escape, those things they don’t know about. So to answer your question, I don’t know if it will change.
M-1 Global: Do people in France recognize you?
Karl Amoussou: In France there are a lot of MMA fans, so they know me because they see fights on internet or read in fightsport about me. Some guys that do combat sports like boxing, judo, muay thai who know a little of M.M.A. know me. But for the average people on the street I’m a unknown person, you can’t compare it with other sports.
M-1 Global: How did you family react when you told them you were going to fight M.M.A ?
Karl Amoussou: I come from a family that participates in combat sports. My father is a judo and karate black belt, my mother is a judo brown belt, my brothers and sisters are all judo or karate black belt so it runs in the family.
M-1 Global: Which of your fights is the most memorable to you and why?
Karl Amoussou: I think my fight against Dmitry Samoilov is the most memorable for me. I came back after a one year break because of a big injury (hand tendon cut). I had a lot of pressure for my comeback and made a huge KO with a high kick. It was my first KO before that fight al my wins were by submissions, after that something changed and I won the next by KO or TKO and became to be known as a striker and not anymore as a grappler.
