GAMMA President Alexander Engelhardt, left, hopes "this event will help with the ongoing development of MMA across" Thailand ©GAMMA

The Global Association of Mixed Marital Arts (GAMMA) has held a formal launch event for its Asian-Pacific Championships.

The event was held this month and opened up to include Pacific nations and re-named accordingly.

GAMMA President Alexander Engelhardt, Pataya's Deputy Mayor Kritsana Boonsawad and Taweep Jantararoj, President of Thailand's GAMMA member the International Fighting Sports Association (IFSA), all attended a media event.

"We are expecting to have more countries and athletes participating in these championships than we had in 2021 and I want to thank all the authorities for their support in making this possible," Engelhardt said.

"I hope that this event will help with the ongoing development of MMA across the country and act as a great advert for Pattaya and Thailand to host more events in the future."

Competition is scheduled between November 9 and 13.

Eight countries won medals at last year's GAMMA Asian MMA Championships ©GAMMA
Eight countries won medals at last year's GAMMA Asian MMA Championships ©GAMMA

National Federations may enter up to two athletes per weight category.  

Ten men's weight divisions and seven for women are planned in both MMA and striking MMA.

Kyrgyzstan hosted GAMMA's inaugural Asian Championships last year, where athletes from eight countries won medals.

"We are very happy to welcome the GAMMA community to Pattaya," added Boonsawad.

"MMA is very popular in Thailand and we are looking forward to a very competitive and entertaining event that will generate a lot of public interest."