th January 2016) The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) is proud to announce the Albanian Free Fighting Federation as its fiftieth member to join since launch in 2012. The Albanian Free Fighting Federation has been established for 2 years and is recognized as the national governing body for mixed martial arts by its Ministry of Sport. Representing all MMA gyms and their participants in Albania, the organization has arranged 12 championship events to date under the unified rules of MMA, spanning all male and female weight categories and various age groups. The country has nearly 500 practitioners and 30 officials. 470 practitioners compete either “semi-professionally” or as Amateurs. President, Arjan Risaj, commented: “We have worked hard to attain a high level of MMA practice in Albania. There is a lot of work to be carried out in order to continue to improve. If we continue along this road, the sport will spread more and more in our country. We will be working to develop more championship events nationally and internationally, and to open MMA Gyms all over Albania.” IMMAF CEO Densign White said: “I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the Albanian Free Fighting Federation as IMMAF celebrates hitting a membership of 50. It is an honour also, to welcome the Albanian federation as our 27th member to be recognized by its government as a national governing body. I greatly look forward to working with the Albanian Free Fighting Federation and to seeing Albanian athletes compete on our European and international circuits. “IMMAF is currently processing applications from further countries across various continents and expects to continue its growth throughout 2016.”]]>
