Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate Interview

Cyrille Diabate, the 34 year old French mixed martial artist, recently made his U.S. debut for ProElite's ShoXC branded event. He garnered a 3 round unanimous decision victory of American Jaime Fletcher. He hopes to work his way up the ProElite ranks and get featured on the EliteXC brand. The contenders in the light heavyweight division is developing nicely for EliteXC, with the likes Rajael "Feijao" Cavalcante, Jared Hamman, Paoi Sugunuma and possibly Justin Eilers, who may go down to light heavyweight. He's amassed a record of 12-6-1, predominately fighting in Europe and Japan. At 6'6, he has the height advantage against most of his opponents, but the great height advantage hasn't translated to big wins against the bigger names of the sport. Originally developed as a kickboxer and shootboxer, he now tries to establish himself as one of the premiere light heavyweights in ProElite's stable of fighters.

He recently had an interview with Darrick Patrick, here is that interview...

Darrick: What was the road that led you to competing in professional mixed martial arts?

Cyrille: Long story! In short, like a lot of my fellow fighters, it started with a tough childhood. I had a lot of anger and energy to express. I started to train and fight in Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Savate - and I fell in love with those arts. MMA was the next logical step.

Darrick: Any words of advice for other individuals looking to train in MMA?

Cyrille: Take your time and choose wisely who your trainer is going to be. They will have a great impact on what kind of martial artist you become.

Darrick: What personally brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?

Cyrille: A sense of achievement and the feeling that I've become a better person.

Darrick: Who are some of the people that greatly influenced you while growing up?

Cyrille: My mother and grandfather. They both passed away when I was young and both stayed strong until the end, never complaining.

Darrick: What does a typical training session for you consist of?

Cyrille: There's not really a typical training session anymore. I've been training and fighting for seventeen years and if I get bored, I don't train as well! The length, content, and intensity varies a lot depending on my schedule and needs. I rely a lot more on experience and steady training than before.

Darrick: Who are a few of the people in the sport that you highly respect?

Cyrille: There are a lot and for different reasons. Fedor is one of them. When I see him fight and read his interviews, I am as equally impressed by both. He's down-to-earth, effective, and humble. He has those qualities in large proportions! I also respect Genki Sudo - I saw a great documentary on him once. He's a great fighter and showman, and is a really interesting person.

Darrick: Outside of competitive fighting, what are your other interests?

Cyrille: Movies, reading, video games, traveling, and nice restaurants.

Darrick: What moment in your life have you been proudest of so far?

Cyrille: My first major win in an international tournament. I was twenty-three and I had won my three fights by knockout to win the tournament. It felt great!

Darrick: Tell us something about you that most people don't know.

Cyrille: I draw well and take good pictures.

Darrick: What is your oldest memory?

Cyrille: Riding my bike as a kid.

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