Interview: Xavier Alaoui

I was doing Judo when I was five years old and kept with it till I was 17 and, you know, shit got boring. It’s fun but it’s one art and I really wanted to box. And then everyone has the same story. One day I was watching an MMA fight and I’m thinking, “Damn, I can beat those guys.” And I got into it and I started training. And then there’s a lot to learn, more than you expect.

Before that I always liked to fight and I was fighting all the time, street fights. It’s fun but it’s stupid. And you realize later how it’s pointless and risky. But I knew I was good at it and I never got beat up. I knew I could do it.

And then I was 18-years-old and started training with Rude Boy, one of the originals, the first Quebec champion, got the UCC belt. And he started teaching me jiu-jitsu and some boxing and full contact fighting. I started amateur then and eventually came to Tristar. Rude Boy taught me the mentality, the killer instinct, but at Tristar I learned the more technical things, the right way to move, the right way to win. Tristar really made me understand MMA. This is the best gym in the world. There’s a reason why people come from all over the world to train here. Only top dogs.

Me and Rude Boy, my coach, the way we used to roll, we’d go into places, not talk to anyone and just fuck up everyone. Just beat up people and leave. We’d be at amateur shows and people would try to talk to us and we’d be like, “We don’t talk to people. We’re here to fight. Shut the fuck up.” And we’d go to other gyms and spar one guy after the other and beat them up. That was the mentality. But it obviously changed, and for the better. You can’t have a long career if you’re always going out and fighting wild. Rude Boy is my close friend and my spiritual coach but the MMA approach at Tristar is better.

My mom doesn’t come to my fights. And I don’t want her to come to my fights either. But she has no problem with it. She knows I’m not getting beat up for money. I go out there to perform because it’s what I like to do and it’s what I’m good at. It’s not detrimental to my health. It’s fun.

Watch Xavier Alaoui compete this Friday on the Rivals MMA card at Verdun Auditorium. 

Photos by Maz Mas.