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MONTE CARLO, Monaco (March 14, 2017) – The Pan-American Division of the World MMA Championships (WMMAA) has formally announced the recent addition of Ecuador as its newest member. “We continue to grow with every new country take forward the MMA movement as well as recognition of MMA as a sport,” said Tomas Yu, President of the WMMA Pan-American Division. “I have long been an advocate of MMA as a sport. Watching this great group of pioneers put up a great fight that takes is back to the basics and to what Martial Arts truly represents: loyalty, honor, and family.”
Yu appointed Gorky E. Rodriguez as President of WMMAA Ecuador. Hector Molina, Director of the Regulatory Committee for the WMMAA Pan-American Division, will work closely with Rodriguez during the formation of the WMMAA Ecuador Regulatory Committee.
“MMA is in a critical time,” Rodriguez commented. “It’s explosive growth this past decade has made MMA the fastest growing sport in the world, demanding that an organization like ours exist and to add unbiased structure, not only for athletes, but as a regulatory body as well.
“Much continues to happen since WMMAA Ecuador was formed. We will all celebrate our first participation, as a national team, this year in the Pan-American Championships. I look forward to using my experience and the volumes of knowledge the WMMAA Pan-American Division brings to Ecuador. I will share the vision with all my efforts as we will defend, promote and endorse MMA as a sport and give all participants and fans a significant difference in the sport.”
INFORMATION:
Twitter: @theWMMAA
Instagram: @worldmmaa
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Nearly 200 athletes, representing 49 countries (see list below), participated in the record-setting 2015 World MMA Championship, which was dominated by team champion Russian Federation. Heavyweight Zaur Gadzhibabaev, who became the first two-time WMMAA champion, gave Azerbaijan the only gold medal not captured by the Russian Federation, which had the individual winners in six of seven weight classes.