The 2023 IMMAF Pan American Championships are set to be one of the biggest amateur MMA events to take place in the continent.
Working alongside BRAVE CF and the Colombian Association of Mixed Martial Arts (OCAMM), the IMMAF 2023 Pan American Championships will take place as part of BRAVE CF Pan American Combat Week.
Colombian Mixed Martial Arts Association President, Jaime Baron, believes that BRAVE CF Pan American Combat Week marks a major turning point in the evolution of MMA in Colombia. He stated:
“We are pleased to present the international combat week, which for the first time comes to South America, thanks to the job of LFC Colombia and OCAMM. One of the main shows are the Pan American MMA games, which represent an opportunity for the region, showing our country as a destination for sports tourism, in addition to linking government and private entities around sport. It will be a milestone in the history of Colombian MMA to bring these important events.”
The host nation is coming off a solid year of competition in 2022. They claimed six medals in the Pan American Championships, with the likes of Mateo Lara, Nicolas Rodriguez and Laura Oquendo impressing in particular.
Baron believes that Colombia will build on their success, as they prepare to field an even stronger team of athletes in 2023:
“We have athletes of a very good level, who come from different parts of our country, through a selection and ranking process. We can say that we are prepared to have a podium this time.”
The Pan American Championships will take place in Bogota, Colombia from the 10th to the 13th of August.
The competition will be conducted per the latest IMMAF Amateur rules.
Baron has stated that the 2023 Pan American Championships represent not only a great opportunity for Colombia’s upcoming athletes to gain experience and exposure, but also a chance to further educate wider audiences about mixed martial arts.
He had the following to say:
“Amateur MMA is an industry with great impact at the advertising level, the Olympic values are expressed in each athlete, delegate and other figures that are immersed. Representing a fair, clean, rules-based sport gives viewers the notion of an aspirational path and career in MMA, thus many projects and donation options can be leveraged to athletes and federations by viewing the sport not only as an advertising platform but as a philanthropic activity that brings stakeholders and donors to social causes that develop human sense, collaboration and sports practice as meritorious and social activity.”
The 2023 IMMAF Pan American Championships offer the perfect opportunity for Colombia to truly establish itself as the next major force in the continent.