Issue 133
October 2015
While the UFC’s brightest stars were lighting up Las Vegas at UFC 189, I had the pleasure of witnessing first hand the development of the next generation of likely pay-per-view draws at the World Amateur Championships.
Marc Goddard
The international referee considers how the continued expansion of amateur MMA is shaping the future
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) hosted its second annual tournament in Nevada during International Fight Week. The standard of competition – and officiating – was second to none. It was a pleasure to be a part of what I believe will grow to become a bedrock event in the sport and a genuine breeding ground for future professional stars.
Coming off the great success of the second world event, the IMMAF is now pushing ahead with a schedule of international open tournaments, adding real structure to the amateur MMA calendar. That’s imperative to the growth and development of the amateur side of the sport.
Europe will host one of the first international open events – dubbed the European Championships – in November this year in Birmingham, England. It will again host teams, fighters and officials and representatives of mixed martial arts from around the world.
These tournaments really do give a structured and designated pathway for young amateur fighters to feature on the world stage, instead of only competing for strictly regional, state or increasingly national titles in their respective countries.
Having the best of the best from each respective nation compete regularly under an international banner with a single unified rule set gives great direction and focus to a still formative sport. It really
gives the young fighters something to aim for and achieve before that all-important dream of reaching the major leagues.
In Europe alone, the formation of the IMMAF and subsequent nation associations has had an immediate impact on mixed martial arts across the region. The growth, expansion and level of European MMA is at an all-time high.
Europe’s first female champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, won her 115lb crown earlier this year, then defended it in blistering form recently in Berlin. While in January, a record crowd in excess of 30,000 people (the second highest in UFC history) turned up to watch Alexander Gustafsson in his native Sweden.
The next season of The Ultimate Fighter will pitch Team Europe against Team USA, and the UFC also has its return to England planned for early 2016. And before then, of course, Irish eyes will be smiling when the Octagon heads back to the Emerald Isle, which will also likely include a Beatlemania-style return for Conor McGregor and the UFC 145lb interim belt.
To suggest he will get a hero’s welcome when the UFC stage
another fight night in Dublin this October is an understatement. More security and more earplugs needed, most definitely.
Happy homecoming
Scots shine in Glasgow
UFC Fight Night 72, held in Scotland, was a very special event for me. It was a true homecoming, as I was born in Glasgow to Scottish parents and lived there as a young boy. Despite the quality of the record-breaking UFC 189 event in Las Vegas, I was even more excited for the following week’s show. And the 10,000 or so Scots that packed into the SSE Hydro ensured something a bit special went down.
From a Scottish perspective, the night couldn’t have gone any better with all three local fighters victorious. For a small nation of just five million, Scotland most certainly delivered.
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