International Mixed Martial Arts Federation
AbbreviationIMMAF
Formation29 February 2012; 10 years ago (2012-02-29)
TypeSports federation
PurposeMixed martial arts sanctioning organization
HeadquartersGrono
Location
Region served
Worldwide
Membership
123
President
Kerrith Brown[1][2]
Websiteimmaf.org

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) was founded on 29 February 2012 as the international governing body for amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Registered as a non-profit organisation under Swedish law, IMMAF serves as a democratic hub for national MMA federations and supports the growth of regulation and sport safety globally by aiding countries in the formation of federations where none exist.[3] IMMAF launched with support of market leader, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[4][5][6] The UFC is among promotions sanctioned by federations under the IMMAF umbrella in countries that include Brazil and Sweden.[7][8][9][10]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the IMMAF suspended the memberships of the Russian MMA Union and the Federation of Hand-to-Hand Fighting & MMA of Belarus. It barred the Russian and Belarusian federations from participating in all IMMAF Championships, and banned the organisation of IMMAF events in Russia and Belarus.[11]

Amateur vs. professional level athletes

The IMMAF considers an athlete to be on a professional level and thus not eligible for participation if he or she meets any one of the following criteria:

Amateur MMA rules

Compulsory equipment

Unauthorized techniques

The same from the Unified Rules of MMA plus:

Length of the match

Suspension

A contestant who was knocked out as a result of a blow to the head, or whose match was stopped by the judge because of several tough blows to the head which have made him/her defenseless and unable to continue, shall be suspended from competition and sparring matches.

Suspension periods starting from the day of the latest match:

Listed suspension periods are minimum periods and can be extended at the physician's discretion.

In the event that a match was not stopped the physician still has the right to decide on a suspension if he/she deems it necessary due to the contestant having received many tough blows to the head

Members

National Federations:[12]

Pan America

Asia

Europe

Oceania

Africa

Championships

Main article: List of IMMAF championships

World Championships

Youth World Championships

Junior World Championships

World Cup

Super Cup

European Championships

African Championships

Asian Championships

Oceanian Championships

Pan American Championships

Overall Medals Standing (World Championships)

Totals do not include medals from the 2016 or 2017 World Championships.

Ranking Country Gold
Gold
 Silver
Silver
 Bronze
Bronze
1 United States United States of America 6 1 7
2 United Kingdom United Kingdom 1 2 7
3 Sweden Sweden 0 7 2
4 Italy Italy 1 0 6
5 Finland Finland 3 1 1
6 Canada Canada 2 1 2
7 Poland Poland 1 1 3
8 Norway Norway 0 3 1
9 France France 0 1 3
10 South Africa South Africa 2 0 1
11 Republic of Ireland Ireland 1 1 1
12 New Zealand New Zealand 0 0 3
13 Denmark Denmark 2 0 0
14 Czech Republic Czech Republic 1 0 1
14 Germany Germany 1 0 1
16 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 0 2 0
17 Lebanon Lebanon 0 1 1
17 Romania Romania 0 1 1
17 Ukraine Ukraine 0 1 1
20 Belgium Belgium 0 0 2
21 Austria Austria 1 0 0
21 Brazil Brazil 1 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Former British Judo Association president to lead MMA body". 8 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Kerrith Brown elected as President of IMMAF".
  3. ^ "ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ^ "UFC backs creation of International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF)". MMAmania.com. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Dana White Discusses UFC's Support of IMMAF »". Fightersource.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  6. ^ "UFC Supports Creation of International MMA Federation". UFC. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. ^ Ben Szwediuk (17 October 2014). "Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation: an exclusive in-depth interview with President Johan Halldin". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  8. ^ "SMMAF explains why Lapilus was denied, Rosa approved for UFC Fight Night 53". MMAjunkie. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  9. ^ "CABMMA official responds to Piotr Hallmann's UFC drug test denials". MMA Fighting. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Piotr Hallman Says UFC Brazil Drug Testing was Unprofessional; Commission Responds". Yahoo Sports. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  11. ^ "IMMAF suspends The Russian MMA Union & Belarusian MMA Federation". IMMAF. 1 March 2022.
  12. ^ "National Federations". IMMAF. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ^ "MMA India – National Sports Federation now the only recognised Indian MMA body by IMAAF - MMA INDIA".

External links

International sports federations
Categories