Despite these strains, the overall outcome was phenomenal, putting our flagship event back on the global sports map after a two-year hiatus; 421 athletes made it to Abu Dhabi from 56 countries, and the level of skill they demonstrated showed their hunger and commitment had not waned during the immensely challenging period of global lockdowns that had shut down gyms and stopped full training and competitions world-over. For some teams, it was their first international championship or indeed championship in nearly two years. We were proud too that our anti-doping testing returned no positive results, a true testament to the ethics of our athletes. The volume of media coverage the event obtained increased by 55 per cent on our past Worlds and we hit a 1.2 billion audience reach in January. Meanwhile, we attained record viewing figures on our OTT platform, immaf.tv, and were proud to broadcast live on linear for the first time. The increase in commercial offers for IMMAF content indicated significant growth in its market value.

The success of the World Championships was followed by a new opportunity for IMMAF athletes with the pilot MMA Super Cup, organised by BRAVE under IMMAF Amateur MMA Rules and showcasing some of our top-ranked teams - Bahrain, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan. Further disruptions arose sadly with top teams RMMAU (Russia) and Ukraine being suspended and withdrawing respectively due to the war, and Mexican and Oceania teams being drafted in as replacements little more than a week out from the event. However, the Super Cup laid the foundations for a series that has huge potential in terms of its fan- and TV-friendly structure. It also created some fantastic, global television exposure for amateur MMA and through the partnership with BRAVE, put the IMMAF product in front of more professional MMA fans around the world.

These two extraordinary events provided welcomed breaks for IMMAF after the difficulties of organising competitions since the start of the pandemic. Originally planned for Kazakhstan, both the Asian Championships and Worlds had had to be cancelled due to the spread of the virus and local political situation. We managed to hold just 3 events in 2021, with the Youth Championships moving country only weeks prior, and the European Championships going ahead with a skeletal onsite team, with many working remotely. As will have been the case with most other sports, all events in 2021 hung in the balance until the point of delivery.

Now, finally, as the world is opening up again and restrictions loosening, we are working hard to consolidate hopefully a full competition calendar for 2022 and 2023. Africa (April), Oceania (May) and Pan American (June) Championships are already in the pipeline, offering opportunities for broadcasters, sponsors and partners. We are currently open to hosting rights bids from National Federations, sports authorities, public and private organisations alike. As we build back, we are taking a fluid approach to exploring new, possible event-business models.

In the bigger picture, championships are fundamental to IMMAF’s sport development strategy since as part of the hosting rights package we offer training programmes, education, technical know-how and consultancy throughout the year. This covers rules and regulations, officiating, medical and anti-doping. Our events provide a platform for the upskilling of the local workforce in a real growth sector, through volunteering, technical training, employment, shadowing and work experience. The aim of every championship is to leave behind a legacy in the country that will boost the sport and its professionalisation and accelerate participation at a grassroots level, providing local commercial and growth opportunities.

Other core activities by which IMMAF works to develop the sport globally includes the evolution of an internationally recognised grading system for MMA, alongside international and national competition pathways from youth, juniors through to senior levels, accompanied by our coaches licensing and professional development programme. While historically MMA competitors have fought up to maybe five times a year, the Unified Rules of Amateur MMA permit a tournament format in which a competitor can compete the same number of times in a week, and thus 25 or more times a year. Through amateurs testing their skills at an international level, with a growing number of teams now having government funding, you can imagine the uplift in the standard of athletic capability, especially in the context of a wider and deepening talent pool globally. IMMAF is creating the first generation of MMA athletes that will have trained exclusively in the discipline of MMA from the outset and will have competed in international competition from the age of 12. In this way, we are building a new future for the sport.

Social responsibility is also very important to IMMAF, and we take this duty extremely seriously in our governance of a martial arts/combat sport. IMMAF’s Peace Through MMA project forms a part of this. Headed by Danny Corr of the Ulster Amateur MMA Association, acclaimed for his Government-supported Fight to Unite youth project in Northern Ireland and cross-border initiatives, the project boasts tremendous outcomes in achieving national qualifications and personal development for young MMA practitioners and creating jobs in regions scarred by conflict and violence. The programme has been successful in bringing together youths from divided communities and literally engendering peace. I believe this is because MMA is a universal language recognised by youth worldwide and is uniquely positioned to break particular boundaries to unite. As I have experienced in my own journey as a judo Olympian, martial arts require personal transformation, the development of self-knowledge, self-discipline, honour and respect. The process of training to fight within a sport provides an effective pathway to learning the skills of negotiation and to attaining peace. To channel the great power of martial arts towards social good, IMMAF is offering the Peace Through MMA blueprint to our National Federations as part of our ongoing commitment to sport for peace.

Another area in which we are effecting social change is through IMMAF’s proactive work to boost the participation of women in our sport. The launch of the IMMAF Women’s Commission last year has sparked momentum among our National Federations in the rapid formation of their own women’s groups and commissions. The coaching of female athletes and the drive to increase the number of female coaches within national teams are areas of strong focus for us. However, we are proud of our significant wins for women so far, such as Fatema Bureshaid and Hend Rezk becoming Bahrain’s first female MMA competitors at our first World Championships there. Likewise, the MMA Super Cup saw our Tajikistan MMA Federation enter women into MMA competition for the first time, only last month.

Ultimately, IMMAF’s most essential goal is international sport recognition. This is fundamental because without recognition we lack the authority and resources to effectively govern the sport, and many of our members cannot obtain national-level recognition until we do so. While MMA sits in this no-mans-land, participants remain barred from access to services such as medical provision, insurance and legal protections making the sport less safe and participants vulnerable. It is impossible to regulate the sport without recognition first, which means compliance to safety and safeguarding standards remains entirely voluntary for event organisers, gym owners and coaches in many countries. It would be an abdication of responsibility for the sport not to canvass hard for recognition, since the current status-quo denies MMA’s participants (including minors) their fundamental right to access a safe, well-safeguarded and fairly governed sport of their choice. 

And so, to that end, everything IMMAF does is imbued with the relentless drive to demonstrate that MMA is a worthy sport that shares the same values as Olympic disciplines. That IMMAF is the first federation to meet the exceptionally high good governance requirements of the new World Anti-Doping Agency application process surely demonstrates this. But, if anything the obstacles that have been thrown in our way have only strengthened IMMAF and our National Federations as we continually strive to validate ourselves by being the best we can be. This in turn has affected huge impact on the development of amateur MMA and is a trajectory that we intend to continue.