2016 World Championships: Team Austria in Focus

Federation: Austrian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (AUTMMAF) Number of competitors: 7 Team Austria is equipped to perform well at the 2016 IMMAF World Championships of Amateur MMA. With seven competitors travelling to Las Vegas, the Austrian national team will be looking to break out of its year-long medal drought. Despite not medalling at last year’s World Championships, Team Austria has achieved a Gold medallist among its ranks before. In 2014, Heavyweight Hans Lackner defied the odds to claim first prize. Since then, Lackner has gone on to create a very successful professional MMA career in which he has attained a record of 4-0 on the Austrian circuit. There are a few Austrian amateurs who could shake up the pecking order at the #2016IMMAFWorlds, including both Florian Aberger (6-0) and Bogdan Grad (7-1), who have much Austrian hope pinned to their shoulders. Although never having competed in an IMMAF Championship, Aberger has travelled outside of Austria to gain valuable amateur MMA experience, winning a fight in Germany. Grad previously found himself in one of the most stacked divisions when he competed at the 2015 IMMAF World Championships. The Lightweight fighter bested both Guillaume Bletio and Ali Ebrahimi before running into eventual Gold medallist Josh Ellis (UK) in the quarter-finals. With the Lightweight competitors expected to be equally as tough this year, Grad’s past encounters and his tough loss in 2015 should drive him in search of a medal this time around. Pictured above: Hans Lackner takes Gold for Austria in 2014 Pictured below: Team Austria at the 2014 UFC Fan Expo where the IMMAF Championships Finals took place Attend the 2016 IMMAF World Championships at UFC International Fight Week™ in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA): July 5 – 7, Las Vegas Convention Center FREE ENTRY July 8 & 10, UFC Fan Expo® BUY TICKETS: ufc.com/event-ticket-info FOLLOW the results live at mynextmatch.com or on Twitter at @IMMAFed  ]]>