IMMAF, WMMAA unify before 2018 World Championships in Bahrain

George Sallfeldt, Densign White, Vadim Finkelchtein, Kerrith Brown

PRESS RELEASE

The International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) have announced an amalgamation towards the global unification of the sport of mixed martial arts. The move is significant for the bid for sport recognition.

A joint application will be made to the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).  The agreement also strengthens the application by delivering the required number of an organisation’s member federations which are recognized by sports ministry or national Olympic committee.

“The unification of WMMAA and IMMAF has been agreed by both organisations’ members for the betterment of the sport of MMA,” IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said. “As well as strengthening MMA’s bid for sport recognition by the Olympic movement, the move will bring benefits to the members of both organisations including combined championships and events, joint education courses for officials and a consolidation of resources which will in turn boost growth.”

“IMMAF and WMMAA are both set to be bolstered by this agreement and we would like to thank both memberships for their visionary leadership in ratifying the agreement,” Brown said. IMMAF is lead by its director George Sallfeldt and CEO Densign White while WMMAA is led by its president Vadim Finkelchtein.

The move will boost the status of MMA to be included as an Olympic sport. The developments came as the Kingdom of Bahrain was announced to host 2018 World Championships.

Bahrain is the only nation to host World Championships other than the United States. Recently, the country also became the only other nation to host the world championships three times in a row.

The world championships were hosted in Bahrain as a part of the week long Brave International Combat Week, which features the premium fight card by the Brave Combat Federation. The Bahrain-based MMA promotion was established by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.