2018 IMMAF Oceania Open Championships

The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation Australia (IMMAFA) hosted the 2018 IMMAF Oceania Open Championships at the Arnold Sports Festival in Melbourne.

The event took place from 16 to 18 March at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre and marked the first showcasing on the continent of IMMAF’s five-day, nation vs nation Amateur MMA tournament. The inaugural championships was be the first IMMAF event to be streamed live.

For two years running, IMMAFA partnered with the iconic Arnold Classic exhibition to host Australia’s National Championships for the selection of a national team to compete at IMMAF international events.

With the 2018 IMMAF Oceania Open Championships, IMMAFA welcomed IMMAF affiliated, continental teams from Australia and New Zealand, as well as a broader spectrum of athletes from around the globe. The competition attracted national teams from neighbouring Asia, in particular.

The IMMAFA competition programme at the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival Australia additionally included two further, amateur MMA tournaments:

– IMMAFA Australian ASF Championship
– IMMAFA Modified MMA ASF Championship (mat sport)

Arnold Classic Australia promoter, Tony Doherty, commented:

“I’m pleased to welcome the IMMAF to the 2018 Arnold Sports Festival Australia. IMMAF’s first Oceania Open Championships will attract world ranked competitors to the festival in Melbourne.”

IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said:

“We are grateful to the Arnold Sports Festival for its support of amateur MMA in Oceania. The partnership serves as an accolade to the work of our representative in Australia, the IMMAFA, under Joe Minehan and Stewart Brain. We hope to see the first IMMAF Oceania Open leave a legacy in the region and to ignite the development and growth of MMA across the continent, increasing regional support to IMMAF’s bid for Olympic inclusion in 2028.”

For information about the Arnold Sports Festival Australia visit: https://arnoldsportsfestival.com.au/ For information about IMMAFA visit: www.immafa.org.au

About Arnold Sports Festival Australia:

Australia’s biggest and best multi-sport festival returns to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. And Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back too! The Arnold Sports Festival Australia has become a highlight of Arnold’s mission to bring his Fitness Crusade to the world, encouraging people of all ages and abilities to take part in sport and activities that promote fitness health and well-being. Last year’s event broke attendance records with more than 60,000 people watching 10,000 professional and amateur athletes take part in more than 25 sports as diverse as bodybuilding, boxing, darts, fencing, futsal, martial arts and strongman competitions over three days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.