How the IMMAF is plotting Olympic inclusion

IMMAF president Kerrith Brown recently attended the five-day SportAccord convention in Bangkok, Thailand. The convention is held under the auspices of Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the umbrella organization for world sports federations, both Olympic and non-Olympic. Full membership in GAISF is required for inclusion in the Olympics.

The IMMAF recently merged with Vadim Finkelchtein’s World Mixed Martial Arts Federation (WMMAA), satisfying GAISF requirements around rivalry issues, and meeting the required number of national member associations. Brown, a former Olympic Judoka from Great Britain, now seeks to obtain observer status, and ultimately getting MMA added to the summer Olympic program for Los Angeles 2028.

Brown will have a fight. Between potential resistance from existing combat sports like judo, taekwondo, and boxing, and a not entirely shed image as a blood sport, getting into the Olympics will not be easy. However, in an interview with Michael Long for SportsProMedia, Brown says, “We’re up for a fight.”

“Our first objective is to get observational status, to be able to go in front of the members and gain full recognition,” he explained. “Once we can meet that requirement, we have a long-term strategy, we have a vision, and that vision is to become an observational sport [at the Olympic Games]. In 2028, we know it will be in Los Angeles and for us, MMA is very strong in America, so to come in as an observational sport would give the sport a lot of credibility in that sense.

“We’ll have come through a testing time in terms of demonstrating the integrity of the sport, in terms of its governance and transparency in order to build that pathway. For us, we’re excited. We know there’s a political challenge ahead of us but we’re up for the fight.”

“We’re fully aware that it’s one of the fastest-growing sports, so the application meets all the criteria, ticks all the boxes, and now we have to go through all the politics to get it over the line.

“I’ve found it difficult, really, and sometimes frustrating in the sense that we talk about there’s no politics in sport. It’s probably an overused statement, really. Taking that on board, we have to get on with the job. We understand the process, we understand the politics, and we understand the dynamics within the different federations.

“Probably more frustrating for us, as MMA, is the constant refusal to accept us through the core sports in martial arts, so judo, karate, taekwondo, boxing – all these are obviously very concerned in terms of our rise within the combat element. And we know that the next generation are looking at the sport and gravitating to the sport. We feel we have a social responsibility in terms of looking after the next generation, and also feel that the elders have a responsibility to safeguard the next generation coming through, the athletes, to have the highest integrity in terms of transparency and governance within the sport.”

“The older generation remember the sport 15 years ago, probably 20 years ago, as being very barbaric and something that was not deemed to have any values or rules. But as I said before, it’s the fastest-growing sport today and we have a responsibility as the amateur arm. There is a difference between amateur and professional, and really we’ve got to spread that word and get people to understand our process.”

“Our current structure is to build the layers of the sport. It’s unusual for a sport to be born upside down. You have this pyramid scenario and we’re trying to tip it the other way round. We’re building the foundations from a grassroots perspective. As I said before, that is obviously our strong arm in terms of getting people to understand the development from a grassroots perspective.

“UFC are one of our sponsors and they understand the development from a grassroots perspective. If you look at ten, 15 years ago, the old system of an athlete making the transition from a core sport, it could take maybe two years, around 6-0, 7-0. We’re trying to change that from an amateur perspective in terms of pathway.

“We don’t believe that an athlete who has won ten matches can make that transition as a professional athlete. If you take the sport of judo, it’s probably taking ten or 15 years to learn your craft, to be at the highest level if you’re going to represent your country at worlds or Olympics. We’re trying to build that model as part of that and the promoters are starting to understand that we have the athletes now that will probably have 40, 50 matches before they make the transition from amateur to pro.”