‘I’m A Big Black Shark’ – How Catching A 300-Kilogram Swordfish Helped Shape Reug Reug Into An MMA World Champion
Long before “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane strapped 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold around his waist, the Senegalese wrestling sensation was already grappling absolute monsters.
On May 15, the reigning ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion will step back into the spotlight to defend his coveted belt against fierce rival and former titleholder Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin in a highly anticipated rematch at The Inner Circle.
The blockbuster main event is the next explosive chapter in a bitter rivalry that began when Kane handed the Russian powerhouse the first defeat of his career, and The Inner Circle members can catch all the action exclusively on live.onefc.com.
Facing an enraged, heavy-handed striker inside the ring is a daunting task for any martial artist. But for “Reug Reug,” the intense pressure of a World Title fight is nothing compared to battling a 300-kilogram leviathan in the open ocean with his bare hands.
With no modern machinery, no hydraulic winches, and no advanced tracking equipment, Kane and his crew relied strictly on brute force, raw courage, and a simple fishing net to conquer the titans of the deep.
This was life back home in Thiaroye sur Mer, a rural fishing town near Dakar that gave Kane the ultimate test of his strength – one that resulted in a staggering, unbelievable catch.
The 34-year-old revealed to onefc.com:
“The biggest fish I caught was a 300-kilogram swordfish. It’s a very dangerous fish. We caught it with our bare hands. The only tools we had were spears and a big fishing net. It was challenging because we had to swim in the deep ocean and try to get it with what we had, but we did it.”
Swimming miles out into the open ocean naturally brings a person face-to-face with apex predators.
For most, the thought of treading water in shark-infested territory is the stuff of nightmares. For “Reug Reug,” it was just another day in his normal, mundane life.
When asked if he ever had harrowing encounters with the ocean’s most feared hunters, which would have been inevitable in that line of work, the heavyweight MMA king simply laughed off the danger. In his mind, he was the true apex predator in those waters.
Kane recalled:
“Sharks are nothing. I was more concerned about making sure that we came back to shore with a boat full of fish. That was the only way we would survive. I’m not scared of sharks. I think they were scared of me. I’m a big black shark.
“But to be honest, there are more dangerous fish in the ocean than sharks. The most dangerous one I came across was a tuna. It’s very strong and very fast. If you ever caught one, it moves a lot and it will drag you into the sea.”
A Beast Born In The Depths Of The Ocean
While the global fan base recognizes “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane for his incredible physical presence and his Senegalese wrestling, that foundation of his superhuman strength was actually built during those daily, life-or-death struggles on the unforgiving coast of West Africa.
Growing up, his childhood was strictly divided between the sand and the sea. If he was not studying at school or tossing grown men around in the wrestling pits, he was staring out at the horizon, preparing for the grueling daily grind of fishing to help his community survive.
He said:
“All I did was wrestling and school. That’s it. But when I wasn’t doing that, I was fishing. We lived in a fishing village, in a small shack right by the sea. Our boats were parked up on the shore. We were always in the ocean, every day. That was normal life for us. It is how we made a living, and how we survived.”
For the young Senegalese behemoth, the ocean was not just a workplace. It was a proving ground.
“Reug Reug” didn’t simply cast lines from the safety of a boat. He immersed himself completely in the crushing depths, building a set of lungs and a level of cardiovascular endurance that most elite combat sports athletes could only dream of possessing.
When you have spent your formative years holding your breath for as long as he has, wrestling 300-kilogram swordfish, and shrugging off sharks, the prospect of fighting another man inside a ring suddenly feels much less intimidating.
Kane said:
“I love fishing. It’s what gave me life. The water is my home. I can go very deep into the ocean, miles out. I hold my breath very long and can swim very well.”
The ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion’s raw, primal power and absolute fearlessness are exactly what he will carry with him into The Inner Circle on May 15.
Kane’s opponent, ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin, is a ferocious competitor who is desperate to avenge his only career loss, recapture the heavyweight MMA crown he used to own, and become a three-division king once again. The Russian has promised to bring immense pressure and knockout power to this high-stakes rematch.
But as Malykhin prepares to drag the African superstar into deep waters, he must remember one crucial detail: “Reug Reug” was born in the deep waters, and the big black shark is ready to feed again.
