Ahead of the first official meeting of the newly formed Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) later this week, the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) has given its support to the new Continental Association.

The move to create the new organisation comes as part of the strategy by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to formalise the structures of the sport and continue the path to achieve global recognition for Mixed Martial Arts within the Olympic movement.

The driving force behind AMMA is the Singapore based businessman Gordon Tang. Already well known in Olympic circles due to his role as Vice President of the OCA and the Vice President of the Cambodian Olympic Committee, Tang has a huge passion for MMA and has a clear mission to introduce the sport onto the programme of the Asian Games in the future.

National Olympic Committees in the region are being supported by the OCA to create the appropriate structures for the sport in each country, and GAMMA strongly encourages its members to work with the respective NOCs to be formally recognised as the national federations and to join AMMA as active members.

Speaking about the creation of the continental association, GAMMA President Alexander Engelhardt said, “having the right structures in place for our sport in Asia is extremely important, and with the backing of the Olympic Council of Asia this is a very significant step for the recognition of the sport and for creating the best pathways for athletes going forward. GAMMA will always be ready to help AMMA as the new association becomes operational, and we are all excited to see the continued development of the sport in the region.”