Pictured above: Will Starks (left) battles Canadian Alexander Martinez (right) in the Men’s Welterweight final of the 2016 IMMAF World Championships in Las Vegas, USA. By Dane McGuire, U.S. Correspondent The USA Mixed Martial Arts Federation (UMMAF) recently announced that “the Volunteer State” of Tennessee will host the UMMAF national championships. The event will highlight some of the best amatuer fighters in the country while also qualifying them for the 2017 IMMAF World Championships in Bahrain. Taking place from 26-29 May in Elizabethton, Tennessee, the tournament is being hosted by Valor fights, who have been an UMMAF partner for roughly a year. “We are very happy and excited to be partnered with UMMAF,” Valor Fights promoter and matchmaker Tim Loy said. “I truly feel they are the only sanctioning body that really wants to advance the sport and give athletes opportunities…I think it will be a success if we can provide the athletes with a smooth, organized, and fun event, while exposing them to as big an audience possible through our broadcast platform.” Each of the 15 weight divisions—which range from strawweight for women (115lbs) to men’s super heavyweight (+265 lbs)—will have an eight-athlete bracket. Athletes will compete once per day. “My time with UMMAF/IMMAF allowed me to critically and tactically map out training camps for competition of higher pressure,” two-time national and world champion turned Titan FC pro Will Starks said, after his pro debut. “Looking back, I believe it required more of me psychologically to step in five times in one week for competition than it did this one time as a professional for Titan FC. Being able to compete at a high level multiple times in a short span of time taught me to take the sport (and the pressure that comes with it) off a pedestal and believe in my prep and abilities to get me the ‘W’.” Eligible athletes from the UMMAF competition will then move on to the 2017 IMMAF World Championships in November. For further information regarding entry, safety and travel, see the complete official UMMAF press release. For more information visit USAMMAKIF.org or visit UMMAF on Facebook. UMMAF Director of Operations Ryan Brueggeman can be contacted via email at RyanB@UMMAF.org]]>
USA's Starks discusses UMMAF National Championships
