“El Rey de la Calle” aims to bring hardcore violence to the PFL cage – and perhaps do something that’s not yet been done.
Franco Tenaglia (5-2) has already made a name for himself in the bareknuckle boxing world. Now he looks to do the same in MMA as he makes his major promotional debut Friday at PFL Madrid when he takes on Yassin Najid (9-5) at Palacio Vistalegre. Tenaglia plans to show the world that his nickname was earned, not given.
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“I got my nickname (meaning ‘King of the Street’) because, of course, I was fighting,” Tenaglia recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m a guy with a hard character. I am not a p*ssy, and I never let anybody step on me. If any guy has a problem with me, I was always facing them. I don’t know why, but everybody likes to fight me. So I had to learn how to defend myself since I was very young. I got my nickname because all my life history and all the way I fight. That’s why I got the nickname of ‘El Rey de la Calle’ because I come from a crazy background, a mafia background. “
Tenaglia, 29, says if you round up all the organized fights he’s had, it totals over 80. Sprinkle in the street fights, and he’s likely over 100. Even with the structure and discipline that comes with integrating the different elements of martial arts into his game, Tenaglia said he largely throws caution to the wind – something that many foes can’t prepare for.
“The thing with MMA, a lot of people, they don’t train one aspect of MMA, which is very important, like, when you are in the brawl,” Tenaglia said. “When you are brawling, they don’t train these things in the gym. They train to come in and out and choose the punch, and knock the guy out, and stuff like that. They don’t train the actual brawling. In MMA, there’s a lot of clinch and there’s a lot of brawling at some points. I know how to take the fight to a brawling point. That’s what I took to bareknuckle. Because in bareknuckle, it was always brawling. So I’m going to have more experience with these guys. I never seen nobody who can take a punch better than me. I’m very good at resisting the punches. Yeah, you can be very good. But when you can know you cannot knock one guy out or you can not hurt a guy, then I’m going to come after you like a zombie. I’m going to destroy you little by little.”
So how does Argentina’s Tenaglia make history? Well, he’s looking to become the first fighter to earn BKFC gold prior to winning a major MMA promotion’s title. Tenaglia is the current BKFC lightweight champion. With the versatility to compete at both lightweight and welterweight, Tenaglia sees multiple prizes on the table.
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“I want to get an MMA title, world title,” Tenaglia said. “A PFL title would be great. I want to show everyone I can be also the best MMA fighter at the moment because I think MMA is the most complete combat sport at the moment. But my dream is to have a belt in the best organizations of everything: boxing, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, muay Thai, everything. If you are truly a warrior, you should beat everyone at their best level in their best martial arts. Of course, it’s something extremely hard to complete. Nobody every did it before. But hey, why not? Why not think big? We live only once. I’m willing to risk my life and whole body and spirit to commit to the combat sport and fighting game. That’s what I want to do. I want to be an example for everyone. … I know it’s going to be a knockout inside the first four or three minutes of the first round.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL signs ‘King of the Street’ for Madrid show
