The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation is to stream its 2021 Youth MMA World Championships live on immaf.tv from the EFE Marinela in Sofia, Bulgaria from 30 July – 1 August.
IMMAF’s OTT platform, immaf.tv, is under revision and to be relaunched this month ahead of the Youth Worlds. The relaunch forms part of a bigger project that looks to integrate live streaming and VODS with a new tournament and athlete data interface by the end-of-the-year, making IMMAF competitions and talent more accessible for fans to follow.
Three-hundred-and-seventy (370) twelve to seventeen-year-olds have registered to compete from twenty-three nations, representing MMA’s future stars from around the world.
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said:
“The inaugural Youth World Championships in 2019 showcased an unanticipated level of talent and skill from youths from around the world, demonstrating that MMA’s next generation is coming up fast. With MMA being a new sport, its original stars have traditionally come from other martial arts’ backgrounds, but we now have a generation that has trained in the discipline of MMA since day dot and is raising the bar for the future. IMMAF’s unified developments in coaches’ education and training pathways, and new mandatory grading requirement for youth competitors, are all contributing to this growth. As we return to play with the 2021 Youth World Championships, I am proud to announce that we be streaming under-18s action live for the first time, in response to demand.”
ABOUT YOUTH COMPETITION RULES
IMMAF Youth MMA rule sets disallow strikes head strikes for under 18s and are modified from the IMMAF Amateur MMA Rules with regards to the physiological development of the following three age categories, as advised by IMMAF’s expert medical, coaching and regulatory committees:
• IMMAF Youth A 16-17s (U18)
• IMMAF Youth B 14-15s (U16)
• IMMAF Youth C 12-13s (U14)
View the full Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules for Youth Competition here
IMMAF’s second instalment of its under -18s tournament will take place without an audience in order to create a safe environment for international participants with respect to the global pandemic. All participants are to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival on 28 July before entering the competition ‘bubble’.
