The World Championships were a great occasion for me to welcome almost 400 athletes from 50 countries to my home country. With the difficulties that all of us have faced over the last couple of years, the energy from being together was felt by all and it solidified the family feeling that we work so hard to maintain.

The growth of mixed martial arts (MMA) has been significant in recent years, and we are privileged as GAMMA to be making the sport accessible for all and to be providing the right pathways and development opportunities for our athletes. 

Our partnership with Singapore-based ONE Championship is a motivating one as there is a clear possibility for some of our athletes to rise up the ranks and earn a professional promotion. There will be more information on this partnership and the opportunities it has already provided in the coming weeks.

During the World Congress that took place on the eve of the World Championships, 36 of our ever-expanding 64 members were present. We are very pleased with the way we are growing, and with 47 further affiliate members looking to join us, the future of GAMMA looks strong.

Earlier this year, GAMMA became the first international MMA federation to be recognised in Africa and the significance of this cannot be underestimated. Such is the popularity of combat sports across the African continent that this recognition together with the African Mixed Martial Arts Confederation will bring a welcome new opportunity for young athletes to develop their skills in MMA.

We are working to bring some events to the region in the not-too-distant future, and have high expectations that we will see Africa well-represented at our World Championships going forward.

Not wanting to dwell on the past too much, it would be remiss of me not to mention the successful continental championships we delivered last year while navigating the global pandemic and ensuring the safety of our athletes and officials. I would like to thank our partners in Kyrgyzstan and the Ukraine for their support in staging these great events. 

Unfortunately, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, we were not able to welcome a big delegation from that country to the World Championships to follow up on their success at the 2021 European Championships, but we have nevertheless been providing as much support as we can to the Ukrainian federation in these difficult times.

As part of our corporate values, we remain committed to using the sport of MMA for good. Our social programmes are the foundation of much of our work and we take our responsibilities seriously.

We have prioritised sustainability through our partnerships with Join the Pipe and our Green Banking initiative as well as the #ifightcampaign which gives our athletes the opportunity to compete for causes that they have a personal connection with.

Our drive to be sustainable isn’t simply about getting involved with dedicated programmes, it is about the organisation as a whole. We are also working on becoming even more financially sound and strengthening the governance of GAMMA.

Most recently, we have added a professional event director to our ranks, and she will be working hand in hand with our event organisers to ensure the highest quality of our competitions across the globe.

Bringing our athletes together to compete is always exciting for us. The highly competitive action and the results that we witnessed in Amsterdam last month are a testament to the hard work that our athletes undertake all year round to perform at the very best. 

We must not forget that to make these events happen, we have a highly committed and professional group of judges and referees who travel from all corners of the globe to officiate our Championships.

Part of our development plan is to deliver more education courses to grow the pool of talent even wider and especially to attract more women to the sport, both inside the ring and in administration roles.

As a combat sport, a lot of time and energy goes into making sure that our sport is conducted safely and that we are creating the best environment for world-class performance. This starts with our athletes, and we have been working to educate them on the dangers of weight cutting for competitions. 

We introduced hydrated weight testing for the first time in 2021 to protect the well-being of our athletes, ensuring they are safe and fit to compete. This ties in with our commitment to clean sport and our collaboration with the International Testing Agency which has been a great success so far.

Being a young and dynamic federation, we have plenty of opportunities to innovate with regard to our events. Two recent innovations that we believe have created even more value for our events were the introduction of a rankings system and the creation of an additional ring safety feature, the rage.

Our athletes are the stars of the show, and we continually strive to put them front and centre of our activities. They are the face of GAMMA, and we are in the initial stages of creating a new corporate look and digital strategy that will place our athletes in front of newer and bigger audiences. 

Some of the new assets were showcased for the World Championships and the feedback received has been very positive so far.

Looking ahead for the remainder of the year, we have a busy competition calendar that will culminate with the 2022 GAMMA World Championships at the end of the year. Before that, we will be providing support to our National Federations with their competition and development programmes while also hosting a number of continental and regional tournaments.

On a personal note, I feel honoured to be entrusted by our members to lead GAMMA. Seeing how the sport of MMA is growing, becoming more mainstream and generating interest not only in the sporting community, but in the media and other circles, the time is right to maximise these opportunities for the good of MMA globally. 

I spend a lot of time speaking to people about our sport and the work we do, and it encourages me every day to push our mission forward. In the meantime, as we continue to grow as an International Federation, I remain humbled by the support we have gathered from the martial arts and wider sports community.

I would like to welcome any of you reading this to reach out if you have an interest in learning more about what we do. Everyone is welcome.