The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation-World Mixed Martial Arts Association World Amateur MMA Championships will return to Bahrain as part of Brave International Combat Week from November 11-16, 2019. This will be the third consecutive year the combat sports event is taking place in the country.

Hosted by the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation under the Bahrain Olympic Committee, the IMMAF’s 2019 Senior and Junior World Championship tournaments will take place at the Khalifa Sport City Stadium in Isa Town, Bahrain. Commencing on November 10, 2019 with the Tournament Draw and Opening Ceremony, the competitions will play out from November 11-14, 2019.

The finals will be on November 16, 2019. Prior to this, Bahraini MMA promotion Brave Combat Federation will host a professional MMA night on November 15, 2019 at the Khalifa Sport City Stadium.

In 2018, the IMMAF-WMMAA World Amateur MMA Championships featured 285 athletes from 51 competing nations. The unification of international governing bodies WMMAA and IMMAF saw a shake-up of the World Amateur MMA Rankings as Team Russia ascended to top nation.

Continued growth and global expansion by IMMAF through 2019 foretells record-breaking numbers at this year’s crown event. IMMAF president Kerrith Brown thanked His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al Khalifa, the Youth and Sports Minister and national Olympic Committee President in Bahrain, for this work as “the driving force behind the development of MMA in the region.”

“We look forward to working again with the Bahrain MMA Federation and BRAVE to deliver another incomparable World Championship event for our athletes,” Brown stated. “Bahrain has exceeded expectations for two years running and I urge MMA amateurs to apply for the opportunity to participate in this extraordinary, world-class, sporting experience.”

MMA amateurs wishing to participate should contact their national IMMAF or WMMAA affiliated national federation for information. Meanwhile, here is a clip from IMMAF-WMMAA: