Swedish veteran amateur fighter, 2016 World Champion Gabriella Ringblom has registered her interest in competing at the upcoming IMMAF Africa Open.
Johannesburg, South Africa will host the inaugural Africa Open between August 29 – September 4, 2016 at the Brakpan Indoor Sports Centre. The event will be sanctioned by Mixed Martial Arts South Africa.
125lber Ringblom registered her interest for the Africa tournament through IMMAF affiliated database MyNextMatch. Fellow Swedish Gold medallist Cornelia Holm (135lbs) and Bronze medallist Rostem Akman (205lbs) have also registered for the competition.
Of course, their appearance at the Africa Open will depend on clearance from IMMAF in their screening process.
Ringblom defeated Finland’s Anette Osterberg in the 2016 Worlds Finals to claim her first IMMAF gold medal. It was the culmination of a two year journey, with the Swede the only IMMAF fighter to have competed at the 2014 and 2016 Worlds as well as the 2015 European Open Championships.
She claimed Silver at both the 2014 Worlds and 2015 Euros.
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation are the global governing body for amateur MMA. In 2014 they launched their own World Championships which for the past three years has been an incredibly successful part of UFC International Fight Week.
The 11 competitors from Team Sweden are the first national body to officially register for the 2016 Africa Open.
