By Caoilte de Barra
On August 19, while in attendance at the 2022 Youth World Championships, the Tajikistan Mixed Martial Arts Federation (TAJMMAF) signed memorandums of cooperation with both the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association (IMMAA) and the Netherlands Mixed Martial Federation (NLMMAF).
TAJMMAF President Davron Juraev signed the agreement, focused on the development of the sport in each country, on behalf of Tajikistan. Liam-Og Griffin and Mikhail Mazur signed on behalf of Ireland and the Netherlands.
The federation previously signed memorandums of cooperation with MMA Federations of Ukraine, UAE and Bulgaria. The memorandum details many areas where the federations will cooperate, including the exchangeof documentation, information, training and methodological materials in the field of MMA.
Parties hope to cooperate in organising multiple events, such as seminars and exhibitions, to name a few, while also working together in the field of training athletes participating and competing in MMA.
NLMMAF President Mikhail Mazur detailed the importance of the agreement between both parties for the federation.
“The signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation with the MMA Federation of Tajikistan is another step in the right direction for the Netherlands MMA Federation. Tajikistan, under the leadership of Davron Juraev, and his team have once again proven its top position in the amateur MMA world, conquering third place overall among the best young athletes from around the globe.
“This signing is a sign of respect from their side as well as trust into fruitful future cooperation. We are the youngest federation of them all, but we plan to develop, and due to this cooperation, training camps, friendly events, courses, seminars and much more become possible.”
Liam-Og Griffin explained how he had no doubts when approached about the idea.
“When it was first suggested to me for Ireland to cooperate with Tajikistan, I had no hesitation. I’ve watched the development of TAJMMAF since they joined IMMAF in 2020 and have been extremely impressed with both the skill of its athletes, their fighting spirit, and of course, their results speak for themselves.”
Acknowledging how this is the first step of the agreement, he added how excited he is to work with TAJMMAF in the future.
“While the signing of the memorandum is only a first step, I hope to keep communications open throughout the year with TAJMMAF and look forward to finding ways for our teams to meet for training camps, friendly tournaments and seminars, particularly in the weeks before and after major IMMAF tournaments.”
