MMA makes its Asian Games debut

A NEW SEASON: The Games’ MMA bouts bear a limited resemblance to American UFC fights, sparing the cage, but organizers hope this is a step forward

A sport once banned in much of the US and famously decried as “human cockfighting” by a high-profile politician is making an ambitious play for the Olympics.

Mixed Martial Arts, known as MMA, is making its Asian Games debut this week in Japan — a milestone that fighters and organizers hope leads to bigger things.

Galastein Tan, director general of the Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts, said being at the Asian Games was “a big step.”

Kyrgyzstan’s Dastan Kanybek Uulu, in red, and Uzbekistan’s Firdavs Atamuratov compete in the men’s modern 60kg mixed martial arts semi-final at Nagoya City Inae Sports Center on Monday.

Photo: AFP

“As for any sport, the inclusion in the continental games is critical,” he said.

“Obviously the inclusion means that you already have a good governance structure, you have enough members, athletes to be able to compete, your ruleset, your officials are ready and therefore it is a significant one,” he added.

At a gym akin to a school sports hall, men and women scrap it out in separate categories in front of a modest but enthusiastic crowd.

Many of the competitors are from countries with proud histories in fighting sports such as Thailand, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and hosts Japan.

For fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the MMA promoter synonymous with the sport, there is one immediate difference.

In UFC, which in June held an event on the South Lawn of the White House, the rough and tumble takes place inside a caged octagon.

At the Asian Games competitors do battle on a white and gray mat, but they are not fenced in.

For martial artists used to fighting in a cage, this takes some adapting to — a fence “does not really align with Olympic values,” Tan said.

Getting everyone to agree on the rules of the competition, including what moves are allowed, is a major obstacle to MMA being at the Olympics.

Singapore’s Teo Hui Hoon said that Asian Games and Olympic recognition would encourage a generation to take up the sport.

“I think it will grow the talent pool a lot,” she said. “It will encourage more children and teenagers to take up the sport and take it seriously.”

“Because now there’s a clear pathway, right?” she said. “You can join a national team, the next step you can go to the Olympics.”

MMA is not the only sport debuting at Asia’s premier sporting event and hoping one day to get into the Olympics.

So is teqball — roughly a crossover between football and table tennis — and there is also the fast-growing racquet sport of padel.

It makes for a crowded field, and there are many other sports with Olympic ambitions.

Plenty of hard work and political lobbying lies ahead if MMA is to make it.

“We have been in talks with the IOC and other relevant stakeholders that have influence or decision on the recognition,” said an upbeat Tan.

Of the other issues on the long path to Olympic recognition there is a perception in the eyes of some that MMA is too violent.

Still, driven by the phenomenal success of the UFC, MMA is now mainstream — a far cry from the 1990s when then-US senator John McCain compared the early version of the sport to cockfighting.

Getting the whole of MMA to coalesce around one governing body is also essential if an Olympic place is to one day come.

Los Angeles in 2028 is too soon, and then comes Brisbane four years later.

“Nothing is impossible,” Tan said. “We hope that MMA is a sport that the Olympics finds relevance to and the ability to connect with both adults and also the youth.”

“[It is] a sport which has global appeal and a sport that is ready and capable of fitting into a major Games schedule,” Tan said. “So if the IOC or LA28 comes and say, MMA, would you like to be in as a medal sport or demo sport, we are ready.”