Most sports have recognition at the Olympic level. This includes boxing too. While boxing has faced several issues, mixed martial arts are nowhere near Olympic recognition. Many people have an aversion towards the sport and consider it brutal. But John Kavanagh has some great news!
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Several people are of the opinion that MMA should be an Olympic sport. Khabib Nurmagomedov is one such person and has been vocal about it. Its inclusion in the Olympics is one of his goals. UFC President Dana White too feels that MMA needs to be included. However, it is not something that’s on his priority list.
Khabib is focused on making MMA an Olympic sport.
More from @marc_raimondi 📰 https://t.co/7mCSKbiWQ5 pic.twitter.com/nzn795Kmf7
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 3, 2020
Conor McGregor‘s coach John Kavanagh also supports this cause and tweeted, “This is the biggest story in MMA history. A precursor to Olympic games and recognition from every country’s individual government. THIS is the greatest Christmas present ever. @arialhelwani”.
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This is the biggest story in MMA history. A precursor to Olympic games and recognition from every country's individual government. THIS is the greatest Christmas present ever. @arielhelwani https://t.co/YQ7KLmZc6e
— Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) December 23, 2021
This surely is great news for the MMA community. WADA President welcomed IMMAF and said, “WADA is pleased to welcome the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation into the Clean Sport community.”
IMMAF ACHIEVES WADA SIGNATORY STATUS
IMMAF is proud to announce that it has been awarded @wada_ama Code signatory status, becoming the first organization to do so under the revised Policy for Acceptance of New Signatories that came into effect in 2021.
Full story to follow. pic.twitter.com/j9HlwG9Dwi
— IMMAF (@IMMAFed) December 23, 2021
President Witold Banka also explained that signing the code would pledge MMA’s support towards their cause of clean sports. This is an excellent step towards MMA becoming an Olympic sport in the future.
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However, there are several other issues that need to be thought through carefully.
What difficulties can MMA face at the Olympics?
What is interesting is that back in 2018, WADA had denied membership to the ‘International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’ because they considered the sport too dangerous. While WADA may have changed its thoughts, this perception still prevails among a part of the general population and other organizations.
Further, there are other logistic aspects that could cause a problem. The Olympics last for about 30-40 days and hence, MMA fighters would have to fight after just a few days interval. It is common for fighters to get a ban of even months when injured. Hence, this could be problematic.
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However, MMA is extremely popular and has support from fans all around the world. So it might be possible to overcome such issues.
Do you think MMA should be an Olympic sport? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
