Ielö Page quickly made a name for herself on planet MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), where she landed 5 years ago. She does not come out of nowhere, after an exceptional career in Thai boxing and K1 rules, another combat sport, with the key nine world titles and four French.
Today, she defends her new discipline, still little known and sometimes criticized in France. “Kicks, knees, elbows. There’s also wrestling and jujitsu, with arm locks on the ground, etc. But it’s regulated, you can’t hit just anyhow. It looks like not like that but you have to think about it anyway.”
She fights in front of 30,000 spectators
MMA, authorized in France since January 2020 only, retains a violent image with part of the general public. It is a true American showin a cage-like ring. “People, in general, it scares them. But in real life, the cage protects us because it prevents us from falling outside the combat area.”
Abroad, viewers ask fewer questions. During her last big fight, in Moscow, at the end of October, Ielö Page found herself surrounded by 30,000 spectators. “Me, the little Brestoise, I find myself in a crazy thing like that… It’s a dream! You feel like a star [rires] !”
A big diet to change category
She fights in the “Bellator” category, the equivalent of the second world level. She is currently preparing an important appointment, in Dublin, February 25where she intends to register for the first time in the Under 52 kg. “The first fight happens on the plate. I eat lots of vegetables, and I’m going to run. You have to hold on mentally.” He still has 6 kilos to lose in three weeks.
Fishmonger between two fights
After ten years in Paris, Ielo, 33 years old, returned to Brest, in his native Finistère. His parents live in Le Conquet. And his schedule is full here. “In the morning I do my jogging, in the evening I have training. And otherwise I’m a fishmonger on the side. As I don’t fight every month, the money doesn’t come in all the time. So I’m at the market on Wednesdays, weekends and sometimes on Tuesdays.
Ielö Page also thanks her boss, who lets her go as soon as she has a competition. Like the one scheduled in three weeks in Ireland.