This, after all, is the Ivory Coast athlete who earned an astonishing gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics - not just in the last minute, but in the last second.

Britain’s Lutalo Muhammad was ahead for the entirety of the men’s welterweight under-80kg final - until that last second, when Cissé produced an inspired spinning heel kick that brushed his opponent’s face and dashed the gold from his grasp.

"I realised that, in one second, everything can change," he told World Taekwondo. "I was so happy, because I had achieved my dream."

Cissé had benefited in ideal fashion from his own huge effort in the 2015 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Mexico City, when despite losing 16-10 in an all-action meeting with fellow battler Aaron Cook of Moldova, he did enough to earn the Ivory Coast a quota place for Rio.

It was one of the most dramatic moments not just in taekwondo Olympic history, but Olympic history.

Cissé - who had put his studies in electrical engineering on hold to prepare for the Games - returned home to the Ivory Coast a hero. As the recipient of the first Olympic gold medal ever won by an Ivoirian, he and team mate Ruth Gbagbi - who won bronze in Rio - were greeted by the President and toured the country.

He has continued to make his country proud since, adding an African Games title in 2019 to the one he won in 2015, and an African Championship in 2021 to the one he won in 2016. He has also collected five Grand Prix golds, including at the 2017 Final in Abidjan and the 2022 Final in Riyadh.

The defence of his Olympic welterweight title in Tokyo came to a swift end as he lost his opening fight against Achraf Mahboubi of Morocco.

But two years later - and seven years after winning Olympic gold - Cissé hit the global heights again by winning his first world title; indeed, his first world medal.

His victory, at the age of 29, came at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he defeated the defending champion Carlos Sansores of Mexico in the final of the men’s over-87kg heavyweight division.

Despite the fact that he had never previously made the World Championships rostrum, Cissé went all the way this time.

His run to the semi-finals featured a 7-1, 13-1 thrashing of Uzbekistan's Marat Mavlonov, a three-round 3-0, 5-8, 2-0 win against Gabon's London 2012 silver medallist Anthony Obame and a 10-1, 9-3 victory over Morocco's Ayoub Bassel.

He proved too strong for Croatia's Paško Božić in the semi-final, triumphing 8-6 and 5-1

That left him with a closely-fought final against Sansores, which he won with 2-1 victories in both rounds.

The day before his event Cissé had been elected to the World Taekwondo Athletes' Committee, of which he is currently co-chair.

That appointment chimed in with comments he made soon after winning his Olympic title. "I am now well known in my country and in Africa, and maybe the world," he mused. "I am like an ambassador of Africa, so I set an example."

In the same vein, two months after becoming world champion Cissé announced a new collaboration with African telecommunications company Moov Africa.

The deal saw him become an Moov Africa Ivory Coast ambassador, promoting the firm’s work by attending its ceremonies and associating his image to its brands.

It is also set to see Cissé support the Abidjan-based company’s corporate social responsibility actions.

Ivorian Sports Minister Paulin Claude Danho was said to be in favour of the collaboration with a view to inspiring young athletes to participate in sport.

Cissé took to social media to confirm the agreement.

"I warmly thank the entire team for their trust and support," Cissé wrote in a post on Instagram.

"Together to encourage youth." 

Subsequently, the two upgraded their training environment, relocating from steamy West Africa to the dojang of Spanish master coach Juan Antonio Ramos on the idyllic Mediterranean island of Majorca.

Before the Rio Games, Cissé - who put his studies in electrical engineering on hold to prepare - had undergone a fearsomely busy 2015, and his ambition for 2016 was simple: "I am going to rest as I had to give a lot of fights this year - too many," he said.

His dream at the time? "Olympic gold."

Having achieved the sport’s highest honour, the temptation may have been there to take things easy once again.

"It is very difficult for Olympic champions to get motivated," said World Taekwondo Technical Committee vice -chairman Philippe Bouedo. "After the Olympics, you get media interest and sponsor interest, but then you have to come back to the venues, back to the training."

At the first major post-Rio event, the 2017 World Championships in Muju in South Korea, Cissé won nothing. In the first Grand Prix of the season in Russian capital Moscow, he managed bronze. Then he shifted gear and took three golds, the last of them after an epic battle in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final hosted in his native Abidjan, when he defeated Russia’s Maksim Khramtcov 33-28.

In oppressive evening heat, to the roar of the crowd, backed by local drummers, the 24-year-old from Bouake contributed to one of the sport’s greatest fights against his technically assured opponent.

It left the World Taekwondo President, Chungwon Choue, shaking his head in bemusement and exclaiming: "The most exciting game!"

Afterwards, the impulsive Cissé, national flag in hand, grabbed his first master and raced into the VIP stand to pay respects to the assembled World Taekwondo executives and local politicians.

"Before coming here I already had it in my mind to give homage to my master if I won," he admitted. "Lucien Christian Kragbe was my first master - and was not only my master, he helped me very much. He is like my father."

A sliver medal came in 2018 at the African Championships and the Grand Prix final in Fujairah, where he lost 9-6 to Norway’s Richard Ordemann.

The following year - the last in which he has been able to involve himself in top-class competition - Cissé won the African Games title with a 38-35 win over Achraf Mahboubi of Morocco.

Asked to describe himself, Cissé says, "I am a warrior! My physical style is strong, and I am a 360-degree fighter."

For all his bravado, Cissé has a thoughtful side. "I am now well known in my country and in Africa, and maybe the world," he mused. "I am like an ambassador of Africa, so I set an example."

This can be challenging, he confesses. "I am only 24, and I cannot do all the things that people of my age do… I have to try and think and act like a great personality."

Harking back to Rio, he added: "When you go to the Olympics, you don’t go for you, you go for your country, for your continent. I wanted Africa to be proud of me."