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The New Zealand MMA Federation decided to part ways with the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
The IMMAF was founded in 2012, with the hopes of being the ultimate proving ground for amateur MMA fighters. The organization put on multiple events a year, and amateur fighters from different countries would compete in a tournament, gaining significant experience before turning pro.
After growing rapidly over the past few years, the IMMAF is allegedly on the verge of bankruptcy. The UFC was reportedly supporting the amateur MMA system by paying $1 million in funds per year, which was gone within three months of the current calendar year.
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As a result, several countries have decided to disassociate from the IMMAF. The NZMMAF was the most recent organization to part ways, which was announced in this official statement:
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“The New Zealand Mixed Martial Arts Federation would like to announce it’s resignation from The IMMAF. Due to what we have witnessed recently, we feel like they have manipulated their own systems and practices causing disrepute to our sport and their own protocols. This resignation from The IMMAF is immediately in effect as of today Sunday 4th of June 2023. We will still be the National Sanctioning Organisation for Mixed Martial Arts in New Zealand.”
One of the most memorable former IMMAF competitors is Muhammad Mokaev, who won four championships with the organization. Mokaev used the amateur experience to find tremendous success as a professional. The 22-year-old holds a 9-0 record with four wins inside the UFC octagon.
Check out the official statement from the NZMMAF below:
Who are the top New Zealand MMA fighters?
New Zealand has produced several UFC champions over the past few years. City Kickboxing is the primary training center in the country, which was founded by head coach Eugene Bareman. Among other top-tier fighters, City Kickboxing has helped evolve Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, and Kai Kara-France.
Volkanovski and Adesanya are current UFC champions in the featherweight and middleweight divisions. Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker was born in NZ and previously held the UFC middleweight championship. Other UFC fighters from the same region are Carlos Ulberg, Brad Riddell, and Dan Hooker.
