All Africa Open coming to Brakpan

In February the Herald described Brakpan as “the hub of South African amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) development”.

At the time the Brakpan Indoor Sports Centre was the venue for an internationally accredited MMA officials’ course presented by Mixed Martial Arts South Africa (MMA-SA) and the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and the vastly experienced official Marc Goddard, who has handled over 4 000 fights under his belt including numerous Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fights around the globe.

Brakpan has fast evolved into a hotbed of amateur MMA on the African continent through the tireless and passionate work of local resident Raymond Phillips, who serves on the board of directors of IMMAF as the African continental representative.

Now, the local centre will welcome international MMA competition to the arena with the recent announcement by IMMAF that the 2016 IMMAF Africa Open Championships will be held in Brakpan from Monday, August 29 to Sunday, September 4.

The foundational continental tournament is hosted and commissioned by IMMAF’s national counterpart, MMA-SA.

Open to amateur MMA competitors from IMMAF member countries from all across the world, the Africa Open Championships permits two representatives per country for each weight class, spanning from strawweight to lightweight for women and flyweight to super heavyweight for men.

The 2016 IMMAF Africa Open Championships will feature on UFC Fight Pass (a pay-per-view, online streaming portal) and international broadcast channels, post-event.

In a recent statement on the Africa Open IMMAF President, Kerrith Brown, said: “Last year saw our first continental events take place with the first IMMAF Pan American and European Opens, which furthered opportunities for amateur MMA athletes to engage in international competition.

“This year IMMAF extends its competition platform to include continental open events in other regions, commencing with the All Africa Open.

“South Africa is a hub for MMA on the continent and was IMMAF’s first African member.

“MMA-SA has provided a national team and officials for the IMMAF World Championships since their inception in 2014, with notable medallists including Amanda Lino (gold medal winner in women’s featherweight in 2014), Wessel Mostert (gold medal in men’s super heavyweight) and Natalie Jean Ausmeier (women’s flyweight bronze medallist in 2015).

“MMA-SA vice-president Phillips was voted to the IMMAF board at last year’s general assembly.

“MMA-SA has been a much valued, contributing member of the IMMAF family that has made great strides in the development and promotion of MMA in its region.

“We are proud to announce MMA-SA, with its experienced team, as the host of this seminal event.”

Phillips told the Herald about his excitement at hosting the event in his own backyard, but said that there is a lot of pressure in the build-up to the international event to ensure that everything runs well logistically and from a financial and sponsorship perspective.

With regards to the championships being hosted on South African soil for the first time, Phillips said: “We have really talented guys and girls here who cannot afford to go to places like Las Vegas (where the IMMAF World Championships have been held) for international experience.

“They will now be able to qualify for national colours at this event on home ground.

“The championship is open to fighters from around the world and we are hoping to make it an annual or biannual event.”

He added that it is a tremendous opportunity for African athletes to showcase their talents to the big MMA promoters of the world and perhaps earn professional status.

Phillips praised MMA-SA for their accomplishments in just a few short years.

“I don’t think people realise the magnitude of what has been achieved.

“To go from point zero to this and to have South Africa as a voting IMMAF member country is excellent.”

Spectators will be welcome to attend the All Africa Open and ticket prices and purchase points will be announced soon.

Competitor registration will open to members shortly via the tournament management website, MyNextMatch.

To keep up-to-date with event information visit www.immaf.org/immaf-events.