PARIS -- An Uber arrives for a pickup outside the MMA Factory gym in the Rungis neighborhood, near Orly Airport. It's a brisk afternoon with a light rain, three days after Christmas. The city, a capital of arts from fashion to culinary, is relatively quiet.
When the driver hears that his passenger is visiting with UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, his voice rises with excitement. The driver, Merouane Brakhli, has been a Brazilian jiu-jitsu student at the MMA Factory for four years -- before mixed martial arts fights were legal in France.
With one hand on the wheel, Brakhli opens the Google Translate app on his iPhone, hoping to make it easier to carry on a conversation in English.