Impenetrable at home, AC Boulogne-Billancourt launches its title defense with a convincing victory over Auxerre Judo (7-1). Judo Nice Métropole, its rival in last year’s final, also collects the three points by winning on the mats at Montpellier Judo Olympic (5-3).

AC Boulogne-Billancourt / Auxerre Judo: 7-1
Boulogne-Billancourt (92)
October 13, 2026

Quarter-finalist and then semi-finalist with the ES Blanc-Mesnil in the first two seasons of Judo Pro League, Fatiha Moussa, a recruit from Boulogne during the off-season, had the shoulders strong enough to ensure her new club’s first steps in the competition this year. She did not hesitate to impose her juji-gatame on Lilya Mezagueur, bronze medalist of the last French third-division championships. Eliot Prévé (-73kg), selected for the European Championships -23 with the French team at the end of the month, rushed to add to the score against the Lebanese Joe Haddad, scoring yuko and waza-ari before igniting the Paul-Souriau gymnasium with his signature uchi-mata – which would earn him the title of the most beautiful ippon at the end of the match. In the -63kg category, the duel between former junior national medalists Carla Bonito and Maillys Zihri was in favor of Auxerrois, who took away their opponent’s right arm to project them into o-soto-gari. A native of the Ica region, Alexandre Bordat (-81kg) then took to the mat with the hope of bringing the two teams back to a draw, but was trapped on the ground by the Ukrainian Mykhailo Svidrak, the world number 16 eliminated in the second round of the Baku World Championships… by the Italian Antonio Esposito, crowned with ACBB five months ago during the last Final Four. The score did not change until the break, as Naomi Cabaret and Tatiana Brito neutralized in -70kg and left the mat on a hikiwake.

Lightning strikes Auxerre
Also in action in Azerbaijan last week, with a first round out of reach against the double Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri, the Senegalese Ryan Dacosta found himself this time facing the Boulonnais captain Yoann Benezra, who impacted him with sumi-gaeshi before ending with his ippon-ko-uchi-gari. The 2025 Junior World Champion Célia Cancan (+70kg), who will try for a double in a few weeks, already folded the match by executing the 2026 Cadet World Champion Astan Sacko on harai-goshi, before the Ukrainian Yevheniy Balyevskyy, initially surprised by Elton Azizi, showcased his power on the same hip movement. A new hikiwake then between Meriem Mellouani and Maissa Ben Salah (-52kg), while the young Maxence Adriano, bronze medalist of the 2026 French junior and senior second division championships, concluded the affair with a two-yuko victory over the thirty-year-old Mohammed Berrabah.

Without a doubt, AC Boulogne-Billancourt remains undefeated in the competition – this first victory of the season joining the seven consecutive ones last year – before heading to the Champions League at the Dojo de Paris on October 24th. The Orange and Black are ready to make a big splash on a continental scale…

Montpellier Judo Olympic / Judo Nice Métropole: 3-5
Montpellier (34)
October 13, 2026

Also invited to the big European event in a few weeks, the Azures were able to fine-tune their preparations by skillfully negotiating their travel to Montpellier Judo Olympic.

Retained in the French team in the mixed team event at the last World Championships in Baku, the Niçois Tizie Gnamien (-90kg) faced the Polish Oleksii Boldyriev, seventh in the 2025 Junior World Championships. After a long minute of observation, the Frenchman, recent winner of the Label A tournament in Lamballe, began with a shoulder movement and then got up to betterpple his opponent on his back. In action in Azerbaijan at the end of last week, the Austrian Maria Sophia Hoellwart (+70kg) proved too strong for the young Julia Martin, whom she sent to the ground in a waza-ari before forcing her to give up on a choke. As the master of the Montpellier training camp, the 2024 French champion Angel Gustan (+90kg) had no trouble charging Fedy Khazri on his right hip before throwing him into uchi-mata. 2-1 then 2-2 after a yuko by the Italian Ilaria Finestrone (-52kg), last year’s European junior vice champion and seventh at the last Grand Chelem in Lausanne, who defeated Léa Métrot, and the draw between Mathias Leprize and Abdelsalem Khiri.

The Maralpins with experience
Facing the veteran national medalist 2026 Clara Landes, Ophélie Vellozzi immediately put the visitors on the right track with a beautiful ne-waza finish in juji-gatame. At -73kg, Driss Masson Jbilou, bronze medalist in the lower category this weekend at the European Cup in Malaga, then thwarted the predictions by dominating the Englishman Irakli Goginashvili, European champion and world junior medalist in 2025, with a very rotating o-uchi-gari. The Nice euphoria continued with the good move by Maryline Louis-Sidney, who retained her hold on Melany Beausse Siro’s serve after a uchi-mata that the latter, based in Valencia in Spain, had just surpassed. The arm thus stuck between the legs, the Montpelliéraine could not avoid the fall and the yuko that was about to sound the death knell for her team’s victory hopes. The victory of Messaoud Redouane Dris, who won the last Mediterranean Games and was superior in the -81kg category to face Enzo Gibelli, nevertheless gave some comfort to the Hérault team, which ultimately saw Clara Hackspill (-70kg) concede a draw against Rania Drid in the tenth and final bout of the day.

On November 10, the victory of FLAM 91, the winner in the opening match of this first day in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, will already prove decisive for the troops of President Christel Lavaud, while the Azuréens will face Juniville Marnaval Grand Est on November 3, who, for their part, are entering the competition this Thursday against Stade Bordelais.