Federation Seeks Approval Of Mixed Martial Arts As Professional Sport—Henry George, President, Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, says Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a professional sport that should be embraced more in the country till it gets approved by the Ministry of Youth and Sport Development.
George, who is also a Board Member, African Mixed Martial Arts Confederation, on Friday said this at the second demonstration of the athletes at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos.
According to him, MMA is different from the Amateur Mixed Martial Arts, also a professional sport guided with rules for all genders.
“I hope with this demonstration , the sport will be approved by the Ministry of Youth and Sport Development.
“We had our first demonstration at the ongoing Sports Festival in Asaba, I hope with this we can get the approval we have long been waiting for.
“MMA is a combination of karate, taekwondo and boxing but the major difference is that MMA is more of a professional sport,” he said.
George said some rules were different in MMA than in other combat sports.
“We do not accept kicking as it is totally wrong in MMA.
“There is a demonstration to show how safe the sport is and the techniques. It will be a scoring sport and for us to be a scoring sport, we need to have a demonstration for the ministry to see what the sport looks like and how safe it is.
“This demonstration will definitely change the understanding of peopla about MMA. Our techniques and clothing are different.
“MMA is trending in Nigeria presently because it is meant for both gender and there is no age barrier. A lot of people want to see MMA because it is a complete combat sport,” he said.
According to George, the federation is working toward ensuring that the people are enlightened on MMA.
“On acceptability, when people hear MMA, the first thing that comes to their mind is the private entities like UFC, DFC, EFC and other promotions,” he said.
He said MMA is the only sport that emphasises character development and that it had been approved as a sport in Nigeria at the ongoing sports festival in Asaba.
“MMA is not a traditional sports that originated from Nigeria, it is a foreign sports well known outside the country but thank God for the media, social media, the internet and all that.
“People are already embracing the sport. Football is the most accepted game in Nigeria but now with what the likes of Kamal Usman and Israel Adesanya are doing, when you talk of combat sports, Nigeria should also come to your mind,” he said.
The president revealed that the federation was also working out plans to collaborate with schools to have MMA as one of their grassroots sports to encourage participation of athletes at young age.
He said the challenge of not having to organise a major championship was because of sponsorship and poor infrastructure.
The Technical Director of MMA, Victor Akhimien, expressed optimism that the sport was growing in the country.
He added that the sport would also create job opportunities for the people.
“We are very optimistic that it will be indeed a milestone letting people know that MMA has come to stay in Nigeria like every other professional sport.
“There is a system of introducing future champions and that is through amateur games.
“So, for the first time Nigeria is going to have MMA as a scoring sport, we are going to have a lot of younger ones engage in this sports, build their skills and also we create jobs for people,” he said.
Akhimien said that the federation had held seminars, trainings for people to be coaches and referees in MMA.
Love Ogumba, MMA fighter, said that the sport was a good development and had helped build her confidence.
She noted that aside building confidence, the sport is an enjoyable one.
“When you know how to do it very well, you can achieve so much,” she said.
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