I’m gonna be honest here, I’m not entirely sure if WAMMA is even still a thing. They did pay for spectacular belts for their champions but I can’t find any information as to whether these belts have ever been defended. What I did find was that one of the WAMMA belts was sold on ebay for $1595 by someone in Paterson, New Jersey so let’s assume the belts have been retired. The main thing, that WAMMA had against them was arguably the resistance from the UFC to even acknowledge their existence but that’s not going to be an issue for the newly formed non-profit Swedish based International Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
The IMMAF intend to usher in worldwide standardised safety regulations and implement global unified amateur MMA rules as well as international amateur competition to further the development of upcoming fighters. This rather lofty but admirable goal has been lend an air of legitimacy by receiving the backing of the UFC which will no doubt increase the chances of other organisations and promotions joining and supporting the IMMAF. The UFC’s support was announced via a press release in which Marc Ratner said this:
“The creation of this organization is long overdue. MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world and we support the Federation’s focus on providing a globally unified set of rules and safety measures to help keep all fighters safe. While there are many obstacles ahead in the formation of this international organization, we are confident of the outcomes and advancements this group will make for thefuture of our sport.”
Check out the IMMAF website (http://www.immaf.org/) for more information on the organization, to read about their board and donate if you so wish, since this is currently their only method of raising funds.
