Guyana to attend IMMAF World Championship in Serbia

Jan 04, 2023 Sports

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – Gavin Singh, president of the Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GYMMAF), has confirmed the country’s participation at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championships.

CAPTION: Ijaz Cave in action against Sweden’s Robin Enontekio at the IMMAF World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking to Kaieteur News yesterday, Singh stated that the GYMMAF is working on sending several fighters to the event, set for February 12 – 18 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Gavin Singh – GYMMAF president

Singh said the GYMMAF will soon announce the number of athletes and officials heading to the prestigious championship.

Hosted by the Serbian MMA Federation, the tournaments will take place at the Štark Arena in Novi Beograd (Belgrade).

The Championships will hold six weight divisions for female athletes, from Atomweight to Lightweight, and ten for male athletes, from Strawweight to Super Heavyweight.

There will be both the Senior and Junior categories. The GYMMAF will have until January 13 to confirm their representatives.

The 2022 World Championships will be the first edition of the competition to take place following the introduction of closed continental championships.

This year’s continental championship saw new stars emerge along with some familiar faces cementing their place amongst the elite.

Corwin D’Anjou in action against Ireland’s Adam McEnroe at the IMMAF World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Guyana made their international debut at the IMMAF Amateur World Championship in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates in January 2022.

Team Guyana, which included Ijaz Cave and Corwin D’Anjou, incurred losses at their first hurdle.

D’Anjou suffered an unfortunate first-round exit, losing to Ireland’s Adam McEnroe via a second-round technical knockout (TKO) in their Welterweight encounter.

It was a debut to forget for D’Anjou, who was stopped with one minute 51 seconds (1:51) remaining on the clock by the Irishman in Cage One.

On the other hand, Cave was eliminated in his debut at the Round-of-16 stage. Cave was knocked out (KO’d) by Sweden’s Robin Enontekio in the first round of their Light Heavyweight Divisional clash.

Guyana also participated, for the first time, at the IMMAF’s Pan Am Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, in June 2022.