EXCLUSIVE: Born and raised in Frankfurt’s red light district, Max Coga has had an incredible journey to fighting in front of 60,000 fans at Oktagon 62.
On Saturday night, the European MMA legend will give everything in his power to defeat Antun Račić again in a rematch that looks destined to excite.
Max Coga has seen a lot of crazy things during his life in the red light district
On October 12, Max Coga will compete in the biggest MMA show in European history, when he walks out in front of his adoring supporters at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany.
The night will serve as the most important of his career, with the show set to go down as the highest-attended of all time.
With John Newman performing, and a world-record-breaking crowd in attendance, Coga can’t wait to deliver in the cage.
But his journey to superstardom started from interesting beginnings, with the fighter growing up in a very interesting area.
In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he said: “I grew up here in the red light district of Frankfurt and especially in a nightclub, which was founded by my grandfather. Then, in the second generation, my father met my mother. She was a stripper.
“This is where it all began. It’s crazy. I was always there. My mother and father never tried to hide anything from me, so I grew up with a lot of reality. In Frankfurt, we have one of the highest rates of drug addiction in Europe. So, I was always around this.
“I was always a happy kid, and I loved being part of the club and the family. We’re the oldest and last red light family in Frankfurt. It’s an honour to be a part of it.”
Max Coga has made the club into a discotheque
Over the 65 years since the club’s inception, it’s changed a great deal. Under his grandfather’s management, it specialised in cabaret, before his dad turned it into a strip club.
Now, Coga manages the business himself, and has chosen to focus on electronic dance music, spending his nights monitoring the partying and his days training. During his time as the boss, he’s given a multitude of people an opportunity to work for him, with many of his close friends and family living above the venue. And while this may sound tiring, the MMA star is used to the routine, having worked overnight in the club in his younger years, before going to school the next day.
Max Coga gave a Ukrainian refugee the opportunity to become a renowned DJ
While Coga fell in love with MMA after watching Pride videos during a trip to Japan to visit his brother, he’ll never leave his club.
Despite travelling to the USA with Christian Eckerlin, who’s been known to visit his venue, and even fighting in Madison Square Garden, he’s never forgotten his roots, always willing to help anyone who needs it.
On one occasion, a Ukrainian refugee entered his business, and Coga did his utmost to change his life forever.
The warrior explained: “We’re talking about Bachi. He wrote a mail. He’s from Georgia, but he moved to Ukraine because of the war, and because of the war there, he moved again to Germany with his family.
“In the first week of the war, he wrote mail to my club. I was in Africa because I was working on my foundation there with my close friends like Daniel Weichel. My brother told me about the mail, and I said, ‘Ok, let’s meet this guy. I don’t know if I can help, but let’s see’.
“I did not know that in Ukraine, this kid was a very talented DJ, and I started to build up his career here in my club. We went over to Ibiza, to a club called Tantra. David Guetta and Bob Sinclair were playing there.
“The important thing for me is to invest time with people who have potential, and not just in sport, people who make music, dancers and artists. I had so many great people around me to help me when I was younger, and sometimes great stories can be built out of this.”
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Featured Image Credit: Oktagon MMA
