Jorden Curran Written by Dane McGuire, IMMAF U.S. Correspondent Following a three-day national championship tournament held between February 1-3 in Boonville, MO, USA, the country now has its representatives put forward for IMMAF’s 2018 events circuit, including November’s 2018 IMMAF World Championships of Amatuer MMA. 2018 U.S. National Team as of February 11, per UMMAF: Men’s 125lbs: Romeo Orosco Alternate: Trevor Barnes 135lbs: Sam Paneitz Alternate: Michael Williams 145lbs: Chase Boutwell Alternate: Alvin Miller 155lbs: Roy Sarabia Alternate: Kyle Cason 170lbs: Laree Hutchison Alternate: Darian Weeks 185lbs: Angelo Rivera Jr 205lbs: Joshua Cumbee Alternate: Toma Walton 265lbs: Darion Abbey Alternate: Joshua Bush +265lbs: Joshua Woodrum Women’s 115lbs: Hannah Scoggins 125lbs: Laneisha Vinson 135lbs: Kia Lola Alternate: Fotini Kandris 145lbs: Taryn Conklin 155lbs: Dorothy Godwin Names that stand out include defending national champion Chase Boutwell (Georgia) and Taryn Conklin (Wisconsin), both qualify as primary competitors. Fellow previous national champions: Darian Weeks (Missouri,) Toma Walton (Missouri,) and Fotini Kandris will serve as alternates. All five athletes return to the national squad as veterans of the IMMAF World Championships. Hannah Scoggins (South Carolina) was unable to compete for a spot on the national team last year, but did represent the U.S at the 2017 IMMAF Asian Open in Singapore, winning the Women’s Flyweight gold medal. Her presence coincided with husband Justin Scoggins’ bout at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correira, which also went down in Singapore. IMMAF 2018 events schedule: 2018 IMMAF Oceania Open Championships 16 – 18 March, Melbourne – Australia 2018 IMMAF European Championships PLUS IMMAF Junior European Open Championships (age 18 -21) 17 – 23 June, Bucharest – Romania 2018 IMMAF Africa Open Championships 24 – 26 May, Johannesburg – South Africa 2018 IMMAF Asian Open Championships PLUS IMMAF Junior MMA World Championships (age 18 -21) 3 – 8 September, Shanghai – China 2018 IMMAF World Championships November, Manama – Bahrain In addition, UMMAF announced their first national youth champions since partnering with the United States Fight League (USFL,) which serves as the UMMAF development arm. Inaugural USFL/UMMAF Youth National Champions (age 8-17) per USFL: Male ROOKIES (8-9 years, 65lbs): Brock Taylor NOVICE (10-11 years, 95lbs): Benjamin Taylor and Brandon Pollock SCHOOLBOY (12-13 years, 80/85lbs): Xeric Karoutsos CADET (14-15 years, 185 lbs): Noah White *ROOKIE and NOVICE are mixed-gender divisions. Female SCHOOLGIRL (12-13 years, 135lbs): Zoey Hahn CADET GIRLS (14-15 years, 120lbs): Shaniyah Carlson The IMMAF World Championships will return to last year’s host country of Bahrain where the U.S. finished in third place, taking home two bronze and two gold medals last year. America is currently sixth in IMMAF’s team rankings with 3,994 points. For more information visit UMMAF.org.]]>
