Following the IMMAF Board of Directors meeting, the second edition of two commissions, coaching and youth development, has been approved for the following three-year term from 2023 to 2025.
IMMAF Sports Development Director Andrew Moshanov said:
“I am very excited with the new composition of both commissions and looking forward to working together with such distinguished coaches, to name just a few of them, Bahtiar Tursunov from Tajikistan, is the head coach of MMA Club “Lion”, is known to produce an impressive lineup of Youth World champions and medallists in the last three years.
“Paul Southerland of England runs one of the most successful youth clubs in the country and also produced the first-ever youth world medallist for the country in 2022. Marek Herda, leader of amateur MMA in Slovakia, imprinted his name in history by having mixed martial arts approved for inclusion into the school’s curriculum in his country.
“Christos Alafakis, running the biggest and most successful youth club in Greece, consisting of more than 400 members. Brian Ebersole, UFC veteran and head coach of the Australian team, is joining the IMMAF Coaching commission. Both coaching commissions are the most influential and instrumental groups in sports development.”
IMMAF President Kerrith Brown added:
“The first edition of IMMAF coaching commissions formulated an extensive list of policies, which helped this sport become spectacular, exciting and safe. I would like to take this opportunity and acknowledge the great contribution made by our colleagues and say a big thank you to Bertrand Amoussou, Richie Cranny, Lutz Heyden, Luis Barento, Danny Corr, Stanislav Nedkov, Anton Blank, Zanna Kim, Gennadiy Kapshai, Sharif Bapu, Paolo Oliveira, Vito Paolinio, and Raul Salas Navarro.”
The full list of new IMMAF commission members:
Youth Development Commission
1. Paul Southerland (England)
2. Vikram Mysore Nagaraj (India)
3. Bahtijar Tursunov (Tajikistan)
4. Christos Alafakis (Greece)
5. Charl van Tonder (RSA)
6. Avinash Ramtohul (Mauritius)
7. Mark Herda (Slovakia)
Coaching Commission
1. Ido Pariente (Israel) – Chairperson
2. William Oberholzer (RSA)
3. Brian Ebersole (Australia)
4. Jeison Camilo Mora Pineda (Colombia)
5. Joe Stevenson (USA)
6. Maxim Morozenko (Ukraine)
