The British call Frankfurt’s train station district “Zombieland” because of the drug problem. Max Coga lives there. The restaurateur is actively involved in the district, and his fame as an MMA fighter helps him. The biggest sporting challenge for “Mad Max” is coming up in October.
You could call him a district manager. Max Coga is someone who not only feels the pulse of Frankfurt’s train station district, but also helps determine it. But the 34-year-old is much more than that: he is a restaurateur, development worker and one of Germany’s greatest martial artists. For the historic event in October at Frankfurt’s Waldstadion, he has now found the “toughest” opponent who brings the necessary storyline. The fact that history and home are close to his heart becomes clear several times in the conversation with ntv.de.
“I’ve lived here in the train station district practically my whole life. My family has been here for decades,” says Coga, who runs the Pik Dame club there. A family business since 1959. “That’s why I would really call myself a bit of a train station expert.” [lacht] But the MMA fighter is not only concerned with his shop on Elbestrasse, he is active in the trade association and the International Children’s House, has a good relationship with Mayor Mike Josef and is regularly called in as an “auxiliary component when it comes to campaigns”. Coga wants to restore the status quo in his district, which in 2016 was one of the up-and-coming in the world – “known for artists, for artists, for very, very strong restaurants and for clubs”.
“But that has plummeted due to Corona and people like to point to the same problems again and again,” says the fighter from the MMA Spirit in Frankfurt. Drugs, poverty and crime. Despite the end of the Corona crisis, many businesses have not returned. “In areas where there are many end consumers, many refugees and all kinds of people, it is difficult for business owners.” Added to this are the increased rent prices in the area.
Focus on “Zombieland”
During the European Football Championship, Frankfurt is under special observation as a host city. The British tabloid newspaper “Sun” had dubbed the station district “Zombieland” due to the drug problem. An exaggeration, but arrows on the streets are intended to guide fans away from the station during the European Championship to avoid the district. “This is also an opportunity for a restaurateur like me to simply perform,” says Coga.
“People are curious now, they want to see: is it really that bad?” The drug situation cannot be downplayed, so the arrows on the street are a “smart move”. “We are in a social hotspot and for people who don’t understand that or aren’t careful with it, it can be dangerous. Tourists and fans quickly pull out their mobile phones, want to film something – every healthy person feels their privacy is being attacked, how do you think a drug addict reacts?”
The European Football Championship is the big event in Frankfurt this summer, and in the fall, mixed martial arts will make history in the Main metropolis. The Frankfurt Waldstadion will be the venue for Oktagon 62 on October 12th with 60,000 spectators, and Max Coga will be there. A few days ago, the lightweight fighter’s opponent was announced after he had been challenged by dozens of fighters from Germany and Europe.
“I was open to any duel, but in the last part of my career it is important to me that I need a certain storyline. And the other people who challenged me, that just didn’t do it for me,” said the 34-year-old. When the Croatian Antun Račić challenged him, however, a door opened again. Coga and the former KSW champion Račić had already faced each other in the ring almost eleven years ago, with the Frankfurt native coming out on top. “I remember that after our duel he wanted to have this rematch straight away. He is the most extreme option for this historic event. We have our past.”
Račić is also one of the few fighters who has not only proven himself internationally, but also has more experience than Coga. The Croatian has a record of 27 wins and 11 losses. Coga has 26 wins and 8 losses. “At such a big event, it makes no sense for me to fight against a youngster – it has to be an equal champion,” says the Frankfurt native, who currently holds the title in two weight classes at the NFC event organizer.
Coga looks forward to “monumental event”
“Antun was the strongest in terms of strength that I have ever had to fight,” continued Coga. Both he and Račić have of course developed in all areas. The decisive factor for the renewed duel in the cage will be who can implement his game plan more cleverly, said the Frankfurt native. “He will definitely try to finish me early, which he will not manage. I simply have a longer reach. For him, the best thing is to get me on the mat. He will try that.”
“Mad” Max Coga, who owes his nickname to his aggressive fighting style, was able to get a taste of what the stadium atmosphere feels like combined with MMA at an event in Prague. “I’ve never seen anything more extreme. There were Mexican waves and fireworks. This background noise is electrifying and infectious. And there were almost 30,000 people there, in Frankfurt there will be twice as many.” Therefore, the event in Frankfurt is not only a strong fight card, “a historic, monumental event”, but also a chance to experience something like that live.
Coga does not believe that it will remain a one-off event of this magnitude. Filling a stadium simply shows that MMA has arrived in Germany, says the 34-year-old. “We have great young fighters, the scene has grown and it has always been more a question of education. In the past, potential fans had no way of following the lives of our athletes due to a lack of media coverage. That has changed in recent years thanks to YouTube. Viewers develop sympathy and also understand how demanding this martial art is.”
Accordingly, Coga would be present at further stadium events in his hometown, even though he stresses that every fight could be the last. “It’s a matter of feeling. At some point I will definitely walk out of this cage and say: That’s it. But even if it is the last part of my career, I’m not finished yet.”