By Press Release

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) will be requiring IMMAF gradings of MMA athletes as a condition of entry into its Championships in 2021. The requirement will be introduced for IMMAF competitions taking place after the 31 June, next year.

IMMAF promotes the IMMAF Talent Development Pathway – a technical progression scheme – as the tool to establish standards across the sport of MMA. Read more here: https://immaf.org/participant-pathways/#technical.

IMMAF Grades assessments are marked and recorded by IMMAF certified coaches using the IMMAF App, available for free from the App store and Google Play.

From July 2021, grading levels required of athletes across IMMAF Championships will be as follows:

In 2022 and beyond, the grading requirements across IMMAF Championships will be:

The entry requirements will be added to IMMAF Championships Handbooks, and screening processes will be implemented.

IMMAF Director of Development Andrew Moshanov said:

“Amateur sport has an ultimate mission – the social and physical development of its participants. Therefore, it is the responsibility of international and national governing bodies of a sport to create an efficient and safe competitive environment. IMMAF is fully committed to this task and has been implementing age banding and weight categories. Following the successful uptake of IMMAF’s coach certification program, it is now possible to require a minimum technical standard of all competitors of IMMAF Championships.”

IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said:

“Requiring an entry-level standard for IMMAF competitors is an important benchmark in the development of the sport of MMA, bringing us into alignment with other international sports. Guaranteeing a quality standard is also important for the legitimacy of Amateur MMA, as well as ensuring a safety measure against mismatches. It will raise the competition level in the early rounds of IMMAF tournaments, which are already increasing in competitiveness year-on-year.

“During this difficult period of COVID-19 lockdown in many countries, we hope that through the roll-out of online grading assessments, we can help keep our athletes engaged, focused and achieving, and continue to enhance the professional development of IMMAF Coaches.”

IMMAF will be issuing more detailed information to National Federations. Please contact your National Federation for further information.