News24
15 Apr 2019, 17:43 GMT+10
Paris - Two feuding French rappers have said they will settle their differences with a €2 million cage fight in Switzerland in December.
Bitter rivals Booba and Kaaris ended up behind bars last August after a running battle between their entourages shut down part of a Paris airport.
Kaaris, 39, posted a video of himself signing the contract for the fight while he nonchalantly ate some chicken and chips with the hashtag,
Booba quickly took to social media to mock his rival.
"He's signed, he's signed," he said.
"I wanted (the fight) to happen earlier but the diva and actress wouldn't have it. The important thing is that it happens."
The ultra-violent sport of MMA (mixed martial arts) is still banned in France, so the fight will take place in Geneva.
The winner will take home €1.5 million, while the loser will get a third of that, the promoters confirmed on Monday.
While the Ivory Coast-born Kaaris has promised he will drink his rival's blood, Booba, aka Elie Yaffa, has replied in kind. "I will (expletive) beat you to death, you son of a bitch," he wrote.
The rappers' long-running dispute has sparked hilarity on social media.
A month in solitary confinement following the brawl at Orly airport, heavy fines and the threat of 18 months more behind bars have done nothing to cool their animosity.
Booba - whose Instagram account photo features his toned six-pack - spent the weekend posting videos of his training and dietary regime and promoting a gadget which he claims helps eliminate abominable fat.
"People tell me that it is going to be hard to keep up the training for eight months," said the tattooed 42-year-old who calls himself the "Duke of Boulogne".
"But what's hard is having to get up at six in the morning to fill the shelves of Monoprix (a French supermarket) for €1 000 a month," he added, striking a populist note to please his blue-collar fans.
The rumble in Geneva will be run by the Swiss MMA franchise, the Strength and Honor Championship.
Promoter Raid Salah said talks between the two men on setting up the fight had been "very difficult" with each throwing tantrums.
Indeed, last month Kaaris taunted his rival, saying, "Send your contract you dirty rich boy hormone-enhanced whore. I swear I will massacre you."
But Salah insisted it will be a clean, or at least cleanish, fight.
"It is going to show that everybody can train and become a MMA fighter rather than brawl in the street," he said.
"It is not going to be a technical cage fight, but they will be fighting within the rules."
Kaaris, whose real name is Okou Gnakouri, has previously demanded that the clash with Booba should be "without referee or rules" so he could "break his bones".
The airport scrap in August between the singers, who were both on their way to concerts in Barcelona, went viral after bystanders filmed the fight on their phones.
News of their cage fight set social media alight with mocking memes comparing the grudge match to the big money boxing match between legendary fighter Floyd Mayweather and Irish MMA star Conor McGregor in 2017, which the American won.
Another rapper Rohff is appealing a five-year jail sentence for an attack on Booba's Paris clothing shop in 2014.
Get a daily dose of Beijing Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Beijing Bulletin.
More InformationWashington DC [US], March 21 (ANI): Tech billionaire Elon Musk slammed the New York Times on Friday in a post on X, hours after US...
New York [US], March 21 (ANI): India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, has stressed...
Washington DC [US], March 21 (ANI): US President Donald Trump said on Friday that people who are caught sabotaging Tesla cars may stand...
Washington DC [US], March 21 (ANI): The US Department of Defence is set to brief Elon Musk on plans for a potential war with China,...
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 21 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday visited the Tirumala...
(250320) -- SHANGHAI, March 20, 2025 (Xinhua) -- A visitor learns about a smart induction cooker during the 2025 Appliance & Electronics...
Elon Musk's Teslas' are in the running to take over the transport of Israel's government officials. Musk's company, Tesla Inc., has...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is seeking a delay in the legal battle between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel over their blocked...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were on the defensive Thursday as investors and traders weighed the Fed's policy decision of a day...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The expansion of U.S. natural gas infrastructure in 2024 significantly boosted the country's ability to transport...
BERLIN, Germany: Audi has announced plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 as part of a broader restructuring aimed at reducing...
SEATTLE/WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said last week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is...