The story of the UFC’s fight for acceptance is an oft-told one but, while the biggest promotion in the sport is currently enjoying mainstream acceptance after winning that battle, the amateur side of MMA is facing a global fight every bit as big as the one the Fertitta brothers and Dana White fought with state governance and TV companies back in the early 2000’s. The global body for MMA, the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) has been fighting for the sport’s official recognition for the past four years, as they have worked to put MMA in a position to achieve Olympic sport status in the years ahead. The organization runs amateur MMA tournaments around the world, including the IMMAF-WMMAA World Championships, and supports the inception of national MMA federations to help regulate and promote the sport across the world. But while they have successfully expanded their membership to more than 100 member nations, IMMAF’s quest to gain acceptance as a sport from the Olympic movement remains ongoing. It’s a process that has seen IMMAF hold countless meetings, negotiate bureaucratic red tape and even merge with the similarly-aimed World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) in a bid to clear the hurdles placed in their path. It’s been a long, drawn-out fight against a system that, according to IMMAF CEO Densign White, has stacked the deck against MMA from day one
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Red tape and ‘rivalry’: IMMAF CEO Densign White on MMA’s fight for Olympic acceptance – MMA Junkie