LONDON: The process of unification of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) has taken another step forward with the announcement that MMA’s two world governing bodies will be jointly organizing the ‘2018 IMMAF–WMMAA Unified World Championships’.
The amalgamation agreement for the competition was signed by both the parties last month. It will be taking place at the Khalifa Sport City arena in Manama, Bahrain from 11 to 18 November 2018, hosted by the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation and with support from the Bahrain Olympic Committee.
This development carries forward the amalgamation agreement signed between the IMMAF and WMMAA in April that will ultimately see the global unification of the sport.
Meanwwhile, registrations for the championships have been made open for any amateur athlete wishing to compete in the tournament, who would be required to first contact their national IMMAF or WMMAA affiliated national federation for information.
Held in the same country last year, the 2017 IMMAF World Championships broke participation records for a MMA tournament with close to 250 athletes representing 48 competing nations.
With the WMMAA merger and expansion to a combined 81-member nations, the 2018 World Championships has the potential to double in participation as the talent pool deepens.
The nation vs nation tournament will follow the IMMAF Championships format across 5 days and 16 weight divisions, and take place under the Unified Amateur MMA Rules. Viewers can catch all the action on immaf.tv, the official live streaming site of the IMMAF.
WMMAA president Vadim Finkelchtein said: “History is being made through the affiliation of the two world federations and I am thankful to the members of both IMMAF and WMMAA for supporting President Brown and myself in the decision to combine forces. The Unified World Championships is another step forward towards our ultimate goal. It is going to be an MMA tournament like no other before with the greatest number of nations and participants ever.”
IMMAF president Kerrith Brown noted: “We look forward to welcoming IMMAF and WMMAA champions and athletes to compete on one platform at the 2018 Unified World Championships, bringing the best from around the world onto the only credible, global platform for elite amateur MMA. The competition level promises to be extremely high, and some surprises are to be expected across the divisions. On behalf of IMMAF, I would like to thank President Finkelchtein and the WMMAA board for enabling this progressive event and I look forward to meeting their teams, alongside ours in Bahrain as part of BRAVE International Combat Week. I would also like to thank H.H. Sheik Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Bahrain Olympic Committee and President Al Khayyat of the Bahrain MMA Federation for their ongoing support of the sport and for the opportunity to host a second flagship MMA World Championships in the kingdom.”
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