On Sunday, he will fight for the 3^rd time in the pit of Karate Combat against Greece’s Gidakos. But first, Davy Dona « the Hurricane », European champion in 2003, tells us about his most memorable fight. It was at the 2016 Paris Open against Rafael Aghayev. That day, the Frenchman was disqualified for having knocked out the five-time World champion. This match will be his last in the WKF rules and will give birth to Karate Combat. History is on the move.

By Ludovic Mauchien / Photos : LM

« I have faced Aghayev twice. At the World championships in Bercy in 2012, he received a thrashing (7-0). It was Bercy, there were 15,000 spectators, a lot of pressure... I had not approached this fight well. I wasn’t relaxed enough. I didn’t have my « Hurricane » spirit. I let him work. I was more of a spectator of the fight.

At the 2016 Paris Open, I was well prepared. I had worked on different strategies with Lolita (his wife, 2012 World champion) who coached me. I was uninhibited. I let it go. My strategy ? I knew I was faster than him, that I had more reach and that I shouldn’t let him start. Aghayev is very, very strong at the start. You shouldn’t answer to his feints because he has very good ones and he starts when you don’t expect it.

When he arrives in front of me, I feel he is not at ease. From the first exchanges, I feel him feverish. At the first blow that I give him, he tries to… He takes his fist, he holds his head, his ear hurts, his glove bothers him, he asks for some cold… I feel he knows that he will not succeed. It’s not his day in front of me.

I lead 2-0 and then the action comes. I do an absorption-hit, all the flags are for me. I touch him a little but… not to the point of making so much cinema, I think. There you go, it’s God and in the end, I’m disqualified.

I stomp my feet, I’m not happy, I restrain myself so as not to go wild. I have a really explosive character. I want to throw it all away. I tell myself it’s unfair, it’s too much ! It was not legitimate. I absorb, I punch but he’s the one who comes to me. It is unfair. This is what made me quit traditional karate. It really disgusted me. I said to myself : « let it go ». Frankly, that day I would have beat him 8-0.

During my career, I have often lost because of contact. It was a hassle. I no longer knew whether to touch, to skin touch... But how do you assess the touch ? It’s impossible. It’s abstract, it’s up to you. The main referee must go and check if the athlete is affected but he is not a doctor. What if the athlete fakes out... If the athlete is white, the referee will see that he is red, that he is marked. If he’s black like me, what does he see ??? He won’t see anything !

This fight against Aghayev marked the history of Karate. It was after this disqualification that Karate Combat emerged. The bosses told me. The two American founders of Karate Combat, when they saw this fight, did not understand why I had been disqualified when it was my opponent who was down. They are Van Damme fans. They wanted to see Karatekas fighting with each other, like Van Damme in Bloodsport. They wanted to see KO’s. That’s why I didn’t hesitate for a second when Karate Combat was created. There are knockouts to put and we there is no talk anymore ».

The fight : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ux61WtxHJc