The fight between Lesnar and Mir raised some heckles, including those of Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, who wants to keep his sport entirely within the boundaries of martial arts.

Brock Lesnar, a former professional wrestling champion, battered his opponent, close to losing consciousness, until the referee's whistle in their Las Vegas showdown on Saturday. After having finished with the beating, he continued the show by insulting the battered and bruised Frank Mir. The audience booed him for his lack of sportsmanship. Lesnar's response: sticking two fingers up. He finished the act with a crude post-match remark in reference to his wife: "I might even climb on top of her".  

Dana White immediately condemned the champion's behaviour, explaining that he's "a smart guy", but that his "mouth is moving, but the brain isn't sending stuff to the mouth". White can't be disappointed with the post-match bank balance however: the event brought in five million USD (€3.5m) from ticket sales and was sold to 75 TV stations worldwide.

Professional sport likes its bad boys and with 1.91-metre, 120-kilo Brock Lesner, the UFC has found one. His reputation won't be doing any good for the sport's standing in France, however, where the practice is not recognised by the Ministry for Sport and its broadcasting remains banned.

Nicolas Lete, 26, teaches karate and kobudo in Paris.

I think this sport has made a lot of progress. In terms of refereeing, I do think that the physical integrity of the fighters is cared for. I'd also like to point out that most MMA champions are very skilled in terms of technique. It doesn't bother me that the sport isn't recognised by the Ministry of Sport. It's ridiculous to say that young people will become more violent if they watch this kind of sport on TV. Fighting violence has to be done through education. If you look at Japan, they have a very violent form of wrestling which includes beating a person's eyebrow until blood is drawn, and yet it's one of the least violent societies in the world.

However, I am shocked by behaviour like Brock Lesnar's. It's exactly what I don't teach my pupils. The philosophy behind martial arts is clean fighting - to be vigorous in sport as in life, to respect your opponent, to salute each other after a fight - we never boast about having thrashed someone. Brock Lenar's vulgarity annoys me. I don't care how they do it in wrestling, but Ultimate Fighting is a martial art, so you have to follow certain rules."

Jérôme Medegan is a 22-year-old Paris based IT worker from Benin. 1.76 metres, 75 kilos, he's been practicing MMA for three years and competes outside of France.

I watched the fight live on the Internet. It made history. Brock Lesnar is all about brute force, Mir on the other hand, uses technique. Lesnar lost the first time he fought Mir, and he trained hard to make sure that this time round it wouldn't happen again.

I can understand that you'd be shocked watching this fight if you didn't know the sport. But you have to remember that Franck Mir is a pro. He's used to taking blows. And if the referee didn't stop the fight as soon as Mir was taking blows on the floor, that's because he knows that a fight can turn around at any point. MMA is a very disciplined sport. Lesnar isn't just a brute, even if he does have a physical advantage. He kept his opponent on the ground using a very special position - one hand on his back so that he couldn't turn round, and the other used for punches.

Regarding Lesnar's attitude... personally it's not my cup of tea, I prefer to use technique over brute force. But I don't see his way of fighting as a lack of respect. We know about him, he comes from the wrestlersphere, he puts on a show.   

I'm completely for the legalisation of MMA in France. For now we can only organise a different form of MMA, which states that you can't carry on once someone's on the ground.

MMA's the best sport for improving your confidence. Unlike karate (in which I'm a brown belt), you really take blows. If you find yourself in a fight on the street, you don't panic when you get hit."

Vidéo postée par le club de MMA "Team Tourcoing".

Anthony Desbois is a sports professor from Nice. He teaches judo and wrestling, and helped to create the French Sporting Federation's charter on martial arts.

I wouldn't call this a sport. Sports are born out of culture and need standards. Their rules are the result of evolution. There's a kind of ‘gentlemen's agreement' in order to protect the players. Judo and karate are dangerous sports, and that's why there are certain customs which go with them. Professional boxing is already lacking the minimum rules, and with MMA, they're even lower, resulting in a practice based on animal instincts. Why? All for the show. It's a very Anglo-Saxon vision of sport."