For the vast majority of MMA fans, their only experience of watching the sport comes through watching the UFC. As the biggest MMA organisation on the planet, with the most talented roster in the sport, that’s only understandable. But those fighters don’t just appear out of nowhere.
When fighters arrive on the UFC roster, they’ve generally cut their teeth on the regional scene somewhere in the world and built up a resumé impressive enough to catch the attention of the UFC’s matchmakers. And, for many years, that was pretty much the only way to make it to the big show – fight elsewhere and get a run of big, impressive wins to catch the eye.
But the sport has evolved rapidly over its short history, and there is now a much deeper pool of talent to choose from. That is due, in no small part, to the success of the amateur side of the sport, and the pinnacle of amateur MMA competition, the IMMAF World Championships.
The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation has become the de-facto governing body of amateur MMA over the last two decades, with their annual world championships offering athletes to compete in Olympic-style competition as they fight for gold at the pinnacle of MMA’s amateur sport.
As the years, and the sport, have progressed, the IMMAF World Championships have produced a string of fighters who have worked their way from the top of the amateur ranks to the world stage.
England’s Muhammad Mokaev became one of amateur MMA’s most decorated fighters as he amassed a perfect 23-0 amateur record and captured a host of IMMAF titles before turning pro. Controversially released by the UFC, Mokaev remains undefeated as a professional and, now signed to BRAVE Combat Federation, is considered one of the best flyweights on the planet.
Also from these shores, Christian Leroy Duncan went from IMMAF standout to Cage Warriors middleweight championship before signing with the UFC, while Melissa Mullins captured European featherweight silver in 2017 before eventually turning pro and making her way to the big stage with the UFC.
Elsewhere, France’s Manon Fiorot captured IMMAF world bantamweight gold in 2017 before challenging for the UFC women’s flyweight title eight years later, while Brazil’s Amanda Ribas claimed the women’s flyweight crown at the 2014 IMMAF World Championships, then went on to become a mainstay of the UFC’s women’s strawweight division.
IMMAF success isn’t reserved just for European talent, either. The United States has produced IMMAF stars who have gone on to success on the world stage. Jose “Shorty” Torres captured the IMMAF bantamweight crown in 2014 and 2015 before going pro and capturing championship gold for Titan FC (in two weight classes) and BRAVE Combat Federation.
Raul Rosas Jr. is rapidly rising the UFC’s bantamweight ranks, and he does so with the experience of capturing gold in the 2019 IMMAF Youth World Championships. The 20-year-old made an unbeaten start to his professional career and earned a spot on the UFC roster via Dana White’s Contender Series. Now sitting at 5-1 under the UFC banner, Rosas is looking to move towards the division’s ranked contenders at 135 pounds.
IMMAF’s 2018 merger with the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) ensured amateur MMA had a singular global governing body, with the WMMAA’s alumni including a host of talent from Russia and Kazakhstan, with the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Petr Yan going on to win UFC titles following their amateur successes.
These success stories show that the pathway is now established for fighters to take up the sport as amateurs and sharpen their skills and build their experience at a high level in international competition before taking the plunge and turning professional. It means that the big global organisations like the UFC and PFL get more seasoned prospects when they sign them, while the regional promotions that offer those first professional opportunities to fighters also benefit from more experienced talent joining their ranks.
For a sport that, unusually, was created upside down, with the top of the sport created before the grassroots was organised, it’s taken a while for the pathway from amateur to professional world champion to be established, but that pathway is now there, and the sport is thriving as a result.
As partners with IMMAF, RDX Sports is proud to be a part of that pathway, from youth level all the way up to senior world championship level, as we ensure the fighters set for competition in IMMAF tournaments are kitted out in world-class equipment and apparel to keep them safe and protected, and help them deliver world-class performances inside the cage.
And as the 2025 IMMAF World Championships in Tblisi, Georgia reaches the medal-winning phase this week, RDX are proud to be a part of those athletes’ journeys, as they represent their nations and go for gold, wearing specially-designed RDX Sports equipment.
