Team USA are looking to make a splash at the IMMAF World Championships, building on the success achieved by their younger athletes at the Youth World Championships in July. The 2025 world team roster has been revealed, featuring many new faces that are eager to take the amateur world by storm.
Leading the line, however, will be a very familiar face to IMMAF fans. Jake Christensen has two IMMAF World Championship campaigns under his belt, with his 2023 run taking him all the way to a podium spot. This year, he’s eager to get the world title.
Christensen might be an unofficial captain due to his IMMAF experience, but the Team USA roster is full of young athletes more than capable of making a splash. Lehua Sodaria, who will compete at the Senior Women’s Flyweight category, has trained with the likes of Chris Curtis, Nate Diaz, and even Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Senior Men’s Lightweight Eitan Kagan has trained in the past with two of the best fighters ever to grace our sport, Henry Cejudo and Demetrious Johnson.
The pedigree for Team USA’s young athletes, who also include former football standout Colin Robinson, while the likes of Khasan Jamshidov, Dilovar Balaev, and Nodirbek Tursunov are sure to leave a mark in this year’s competition.
‘’This is a bit of a rebuilding year for Team USA. We have lost two world champions from last year’s team, and our only returning medalist this year will be Jake Christenson. Our other competitors are relatively new to international competition but represent gyms that have not sent fighters in the past, which is positive,” said Jim Nightingale, Adult Director of the USA MMA Federation.
The 2025 IMMAF World Championships will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia, running from September 27 to October 2, and will be the biggest tournament to date. Over 700 fighters from more than 70 countries are expected to be in action this year.
You can watch all the action from MMA’s premier amateur tournament LIVE at IMMAF.tv
