The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

MIXED martial arts continues its movement toward becoming an Olympic sport.

The International MMA Federation and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association announced an amalgamation that seeks the global unification of the sport and the organisations jointly recognised Empire Mixed Martial Arts as the only MMA federation in the Bahamas under its umbrella. "The decision to recognise your national federation is based on recognition targets being met in accordance with membership criteria set at an international level by the Global Association of the International Sport Federations and standards of good governance," said IMMAF President Kerrith Brown and WMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein in a joint statement.

Dr Kent Bazard of the Bahamas Wushu/Sanda Association, founder of Empire Mixed Martial Arts and the BOMAC fight series says the sport of MMA has grown exponentially since the organisation and the recognition represents another milestone.

"What it does it further legitimises MMA at the international level as a mainstream sport as it makes a progression toward the Olympic level alongside other major sports. Plans are underway for MMA to be elected to host a demonstration at the 2024 Olympics as a non-Olympic sport. For example, Tokyo 2020 will feature baseball, skateboarding and surfing making their debut at that level and MMA looks to follow suit," he said.

"Eventually we will have to go to the Bahamas Olympic Committeee but right now our focus is to build a strong programme at the developmental level, beginning with our youth. The key to the growth of any sport, particularly a relatively new sport so we want to continue to draw new people into the sport, educate people about its benefits and most of all continue to expose it as a safe, healthy practice just like any other martial art."

Empire is set to host another edition of its BOMAC series this year and has placed a bid to host the Pan American Amateuer MMA Championships in the near future.

"We've come a long way and I'm always looking for the next standard. Right now the next standard is for us to reach the international level. It immediately adds legitimacy to our events because we are held to an international standard these organisations establish.

"For them to support us is a big deal," he said. "It forces us to maintain that standard and it helps our local fighters to get a lot of international exposure. For our fighters to compete at home and to be recognised internationally is a great accomplishment and not have to travel halfway across the world, which is a challenge. They will also help us in hosting that international quality event. We will have access to their knowledge, techniques and personnel who will advise us on everything from promotion, setup to the production itself."

IMMAF President Kerrith Brown visited the capital in 2017 on a site visit to meet with stakeholders and assess the local state of the sport.

"Our role is to get new countries under our affiliation and our job is to be the main governing body globally.

"We currently have 53 international governing bodies and we are growing at 23 per cent, so by the end of this year we look to be at about 70 international federations. This is probably the fastest growing sport in the world at the moment," Brown said.

"The federations that come under our umbrella are entitled to bid for events like the Continental Championships, World Championships or the other events.

"The main benefit is the growth and development of the sport through networking, assistance, education and training. The main benefit is that the Bahamas will be involved with a governing body that has a strong vision to become an Olympic sport and benefit your athletes in the future."

Both organisations applied to the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) for recognition as the global governing body for the sport of MMA but reached a resolution to create a singular amalgamation.