Audience: What are your physical assets to win?
Benjamin: I’m fast, lively, very mobile, learn quickly and hit hard.
Dylan : I have a lot of strength in my arms and I have already practiced in a club for a year.
And the mind in all this?
B: I am from Marseille! We don’t give up! And I know the sport since my youngest age, I made the training center of OM. The important thing for me is not to participate, it is to win.
D: I did Koh-Lanta, I did the army, Ninja Warrior… Physical pain doesn’t bother me, I would even say that the more it hurts, the better it is. I am a resistant, I will go until the end!
What is your biggest weak point?
B: None, except maybe my height. But I work to make it an asset.
D: My legs. I am tall and, therefore, not super fast in my movements.
“I was beaten by my stepfather!” (Dylan)
And level of popularity rating?
B: I think I’m well ahead of him, it must be said that the guy loves being hated! I have a million more followers than him on Insta. I’m the crowd favourite, clearly.
D: I don’t care if they don’t like me. I open my mouth, I’m a Muslim, not a follower. I’m not trying to be nice or consensual.
“I had to fight myself four times in my life” (Benji)
Your youth, was it nice or hard?
B: Nice ! I grew up in Marseille, with a policeman father and a merchant mother, in a strict but fair environment. I have a little sister and a big brother. With him it was complicated for a long time, we did not get along. And at 19, he came out, and it all worked out because he came out as gay and he finally came out as himself.
D: I was beaten for several years by my stepfather, and I still have a certain anger about it. But I never saw this man again, he left when I was 16, today I am looking to the future. Otherwise I get along very well with my three little brothers, I am very protective of them.
Did you fight a lot?
B: I had to fight myself four times in my life! I don’t have a quarrelsome temperament at all, on the contrary I always look for peaceful solutions. On the other hand, I am absolutely not afraid to take blows.
D: I fight often and always have! I even got kicked out of college at 15, but each time it was to defend myself. And I win every time, except when there are three of them, like in Marrakech recently.
Sentimental level, where are we?
B: I just got married and I’m knocking on wood so we can have a baby soon. Maddy, it’s just obvious between us, everything is fluid. She is easy-going, positive. We hardly ever argue.
D: I have been single for two years. When a woman comes, I don’t know if she’s there for my notoriety, my wallet or for me. But I would like her to be fun, outgoing! Whether she’s Muslim or not, I don’t care.
Surgery, have you been there?
B: I redid my teeth because they weren’t aligned and it made me feel complex. You have to please yourself…
D: Same, teeth. It’s better to be beautiful to be on TV, right?
You both live in Dubai. Who are your real friends there?
B: Flo (note Florent André), Thibault and Jess, and then Stéphanie and Théo. Those are really the people I see all the time.
D: People you don’t know! No one from reality TV anyway.
Let’s talk about controversial topics. Benji, you were accused of placing disguised products for masks, at the very beginning of confinement when there was a shortage. Do you regret?
B: Not at all, because it wasn’t product placement. There was a fraud investigation and I was not convicted. I didn’t make a cent on it.
Dylan, you made a bad buzz with your Lives on Islam during confinement, during which some people were converting…
D: The idea was above all to bring Muslims together during Ramadan, because some were totally isolated at home during this important period. I will continue. I’m starting a series of Live Instagram with Tariq Ramadan for Ramadan this year. It is a religion of peace and love.
Coming back to combat, what are you going to do with your winnings?
D: I will go to Palestine three days after the fight with the money earned and, there, I will buy medical equipment for the families who need it. I don’t care what people think, I act.
B: The money I hope to earn will be used to support my various companies, such as my fitness application. I have thirty employees and lots of projects. I don’t intend to pass myself off as a savior of humanity.
What is your opponent’s greatest strength?
B: He is a big sportsman, complete, the fight will be beautiful.
D: His cardio, because he is someone who maintains himself on a daily basis.
His biggest weakness?
B: His lack of humility!
D: Its small size.
Key dates
1. January 16, 1992
Benji was born in Marseille and spent his entire childhood there, between a policeman father and an underwear merchant mother.
2. November 9, 1994
Dylan was born in Luxembourg. His father left home when he was just 6 months old. He has three younger brothers from his mother’s side and three younger sisters from his father.
3. 2013 – 2017
Benji arrives on TV in La belle and her almost charming princes, four years before Dylan and his suede moccasins in Koh-Lanta.
4. 2022
It’s game time! Benjamin responded to a call from Dylan, who urged anyone thinking of beating him to confront him in a ring.
The interview was conducted a few days before the fight, Wednesday April 6 and it was Benjamin Samat who won. Passing through Touche Pas À Mon Poste, Dylan Thiry indicated that a second match would take place, this time, not in Marseille but in Paris.
See also: CALIENTE: Dylan: The hot photos of the hunk from Koh Lanta!
Interview by Anabelle Gentez