Backed by the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA), a new international mixed martial arts (MMA) federation is set to be formed with the goal of staging the popular combat sport at the Olympic Games. Reaching global popularity with professional UFC bouts, the sport has also gained momentum at the amateur level.
AMMA President Gordon Tang said Thursday that calls from national federations and athletes around the world inspired his organization to create a new unifying international body that can continue to grow the sport, safeguard athletes and build a path towards inclusion at a future Olympics. The journey will begin with the first meeting of the Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts (FIMMA) that will be held in Athens, Greece on December 1.
“We have seen [MMA] athletes excel and opportunities open up at major multi-sports events such as the Asian Games,” Tang said.
“But this has just been at a continental level. It is not enough for a global sport.”
Inclusion for the first time at the 2026 Asian Games scheduled in Nagoya, Japan is seen as a major stepping stone for the sport as the huge continental event that exceeds the Olympics in scale falls under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) umbrella. AMMA also secured MMA’s place in the 2025 Asian Youth Games, 2026 Asian Games, and 2026 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Work still needs to be done to gain IOC recognition – essential to becoming involved in the Games – and that will be achieved in part by unifying fragmented global leadership of the sport.
International federations already exist including the Global Associations of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) that successfully earned a spot for MMA at the 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana and has Olympic aspirations of its own, and the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). FIMMA sees itself as a unifying force and says it will collaborate with all stakeholders to achieve the ultimate Olympic goal.
AMMA Director General Galastein Tan said athletes can have non-exclusive memberships with other international federations.
“As a unifying force in MMA, we are ready to collaborate with all organizations, including the UFC, ONE Championship, and those that share our commitment to protecting and promoting the interests of MMA and its athletes,” Tan said.
“Together, we will take amateur MMA from continental success to a global stage and prepare it for the Olympic spotlight.”
Tan said discussions with stakeholders are already underway but would not further elaborate.
FIMMA says it will build on AMMA Asian experience and implement rules and safeguards that will make MMA events more entertaining and within Olympic competition standards. These include bans on dangerous moves, no cages, optimizing tournament structures and implementing medical and technical review committees. These and other adjustments will help gain IOC acceptance.
The Olympic Games have already been awarded to hosts through to 2032 in Brisbane with the next Games scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028. The core program has already been set for both events and Brisbane organizers can still suggest locally relevant additional sports to the program as late as next year.
The earliest MMA can expect to feature at the Games would be at the 2036 Games that have yet to be allocated but several cities including frontrunners Ahmedabad in India and Doha in Qatar have entered the race. There are currently no set timelines to site future Games as the IOC has put the bid process under review.
