By Jorden Curran
Brazil is set to return to the IMMAF World Championships for the first time since 2018 and with the nation’s largest squad of athletes to date after developments saw the Brazilian MMA Commission and IMMAF member, CABMMA, welcome assistance from MMA icons Rogerio ‘Minotouro’ Nogueira and brother Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueria.
Ahead of the upcoming IMMAF World Championships, set for 24-29 January in Abu Dhabi, IMMAF representatives held meetings with CABMMA to discuss the hurdles that Brazil’s amateur MMA talents face when it comes to regularly participating at the international level and how the sustained prominence of Brazil on the IMMAF stage could be assured for future IMMAF championships.
The discussions resulted in CABMMA’s leadership delegating team development for the 2021 IMMAF World Championships to CBMMAD and the organisation’s president, Rogerio Nogueira, with plans to review and assess possibilities for a new long-term team development process after this year’s event. With just weeks to go until the World Championships registration deadline, CBMMAD hosted national qualifying bouts to select who would represent Brazil at the prestigious IMMAF Worlds.
CABMMA director, Cristiano Sampaio, commented:
“CABMMA’s focus has always been on the safety of the fighters. On the pro level, we believe we have accomplished our goals after a decade of hard work, leaving the “Vale Tudo” behind and transforming the sport in Brazil into MMA. Regarding the amateur scenery, as a member of IMMAF since 2012, we believe we can do so much more, giving other sport entities in the country an opportunity to also achieve what we truly feel should be the best for the young and upcoming athletes. For this Worlds, as decided by CABMMA and IMMAF, we delegated the mission to CBMMAD, to be responsible for the national team and operations. We wish them good luck in Abu Dhabi and great success on the team members.”
In past years Brazil has produced two world gold medallists under the banner of the IMMAF World Championships with titles captured by current professional standouts, Michele Oliveira, and top 10 ranked UFC strawweight contender, Amanda Ribas. The Nogueira brothers were present as guests at the 2016 IMMAF World Championship in Las Vegas where they presented medals for the women’s bantamweight division (pictured).
This year, Team Brazil will be accompanied in Abu Dhabi by head coach Vander Valverde and former Pride and UFC heavyweight champion, Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira. The 8 athletes representing Team Brazil will include:
Junior Championships (U21)
Ethiene Alayde Pereira – women’s jr strawweight – age 18
Ana Vitoria Diniz – women’s jr featherweight – age 20
Breno Yuri Santos – men’s jr featherweight – age 19
Senior Championships (18+)
Juan Pablo Oliveira – men’s strawweight – age 21
Giulliany Perea – women’s flyweight – age 29
Josiane Oliveira – women’s bantamweight – age 34
Geovanis Carreras Palacios – middleweight – age 25
Caio Sardella – super heavyweight – age 21
The rescheduled 2021 IMMAF World Championships will be streamed live from Abu Dhabi at immaf.tv from 24 to 29 January 2022. All the information regarding the event can be found on My Next Match.
