It is a monumental day for the growth of Amateur MMA around the world, with the official launch of the IMMAF World Amateur MMA Rankings; the first of its kind.
The rankings available include both national team rankings and individual competitor rankings, by weight category and pound-for-pound.
In an official press release, IMMAF stated: “The rankings will enable seeding across IMMAF international competitions that will raise the level of safety through enabling better controlled matchmaking. The initiative will also raise the level of competition, by ensuring that top ranked athletes are not eliminated in the early rounds and will lead to more exciting matches.”
The new IMMAF World Amateur MMA Rankings currently lists its top 10 national teams in the following order: USA (1), Italy (2), Canada (3), Sweden (4), France (5), United Kingdom (6), Finland (7), Ireland (8), Poland (9) and Kazakhstan (10).
An interesting note is the inclusion of France at #5, who have had great success in the IMMAF Amateur World Championships despite the sport being illegal in their native country.
The current number one male seeds by weight category are: Iurie Bejenari (France) at Flyweight /125lbs, Jose Torres (USA) at Bantamweight/135lbs, Frans Mlambo (Republic of Ireland) at Featherweight/145lbs, Josh Ellis (UK) at Lightweight/155lbs, William Starks (USA) at Welterweight/170lbs, Brendan Allen (USA) at Middleweight/185lbs, Saeid Mirzaei (Canada) at Light Heavyweight/205lbs), Zdenek Ledvina (Czech Republic) at Heavyweight/265lbs and Kevin Szaflarski (Poland) at Super Heavyweight/+265lbs.
In the women’s weight classes, the number one ranked seeds by weight category are: Minna Grusander (Finland) at Strawweight/115lbs, Micol DiSegni (Italy) at Flyweight/125lbs, Lucrezia Ria (Italy) at Bantamweight/135lbs and Jamie Herrington (Canada) at Featherweight/145lbs.
Also, the current standing IMMAF pound-for-pound world amateur athlete is USA’s Brendan Allen.
There is no doubt that this is a significant development for Amateur MMA, and alongside everything IMMAF has been working towards with the past two championships, continues to elevate the Amateur scene toward that of its other combat sport counter parts.
You can find the full IMMAF World Amateur MMA Rankings, as well as the technical breakdown on how points are earned and lost on the IMMAF website.
