The 2019 IMMAF- WMMAA Asian Open Championships are moving from China to Thailand, it was announced today, to be hosted by the Thai Mixed Martial Arts Federation in Bangkok.
The new 2019 event dates are to be announced shortly.
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said:
“We are hugely grateful to the Thai federation for stepping in to enable the Asian Open Championships to go ahead, as the CIMMAF has continued to struggle against red-tape to progress with the event in China. We have full confidence in the experience and facilities of the Thai federation to expect a stellar Championships.
“We have regrettably been forced to postpone the dates of the event in order to allow the TMMAF time to properly plan and facilitate the Championships. We are working to hard to be able to release the new dates as soon as possible.
“We at IMMAF- WMMAA do not undersestimate the inconvenience members will need to overcome to accommodate the change: As a growing federation and an unrecognised sport, we face many obstacles, but I can not overstate our gratitude to our membership for its unswerving support.”
TMMAF President ‘Plai’ Jitinat Asdamongkol said:
“We at the Thai MMA Federation are happy to welcome IMMAF – WMMA delegates and the athletes from around the Asian Continent and beyond to come and compete in the Asian Open Championship in Bangkok, Thailand – which is known as the land of smile and land of warriors. It is a great honour for us to be able to support IMMAF – WMMAA by hosting the IMMAF – WMMAA Asian Open 2019 and for our country to be a platform for MMA athletes from around the region to showcase their talent, fighting spirit and the beauty and excitement of mixed martial arts.”
WMMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein said:
“Thailand has always been know for its hospitality and I would like to join President Brown in expressing our gratitude to the Thai federation. I am confident that they have everything to comply with the high standards of IMMAF-WMMAA Championships and will host a memorable event.”
Meanwhile, Athlete Registration opens tomorrow for the 2019 IMMAF – WMMAA Oceania Open Championships in New Zealand.
Read more on IMMAF HERE