By Jorden Curran
The countdown is on for the completion of team registrations to this year’s IMMAF Pan America Championships and will close on May 20.
From 2022 onwards, each of the IMMAF regional championships, including the Pan Ams, European, Africa, Asia and Oceania championship events, will only be open to IMMAF member nations from within the specific continental regions, as opposed to the “Open” championship format of past years.
The 2022 IMMAF Pan American Championships are set to take place from 22-24 June, hosted by the Mexican MMA Federation in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León.
It is anticipated that Brazil will make a splash at this year’s IMMAF Pan Ams after the rejuvenated national team made a standout impact at the 2021 IMMAF World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Under the guidance of MMA icon Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira, and head coach Vander Valverde dos Santos, Team Brazil placed 10th in the overall medal table and were the most successful nation of the Americas.
The Brazilian MMA Confederation (CBMMAD), headed by the legendary Nogueira brothers, accepted the responsibility to develop the national team on behalf of the Brazilian MMA Commission (CABMMA). Having shown promise with the largest and most decorated Brazilian team in years to compete on the premier IMMAF stage, the Confederation is hoping to expand their progress.
Brazil’s world championship standouts included Ana Diniz earning a bronze medal in the junior women’s featherweight division, plus senior bantamweight bronze medallist Josiane Oliveira. It was Giulliany Perea who emerged as Brazil’s brightest star in Abu Dhabi, where the Nova Uniao trained athlete entered the stacked senior featherweight tournament and submitted all rivals en route to the final, eventually taking home the silver medal after a thrilling championship decider that went the distance.
After Brazil turned heads in Abu Dhabi with new and exciting talent on the IMMAF platform, the 2022 Pan American Championships would logically be the next significant step, battling rivals from nations such as Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the USA, plus others, to establish themselves as leading lights within the region and to become the No.1 MMA nation of Pan America.
