Mexico and Oceania replace Russia and Ukraine at MMA Super Cup

Cape Town - The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation confirmed that team Mexico and team Oceania will replace Russia and Ukraine at this year’s MMA Super Cup.

This comes after IMMAF’s decision to join most sport regulatory bodies in standing against Russia by suspending the nation following president Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Due to Russia’a conflict within Ukraine, the country’s amateur MMA team has been forced to withdraw from the first-ever Mixed Martial Arts Super Cup which forms part of the Brave International Combat Week in Bahrain next week.

As per IMMAF, team Mexico (FAMM) returned to international competition at the 2021 World Championships for the first time since 2019. Team Mexico came away with a silver medal and a bronze medal earned by Valeria Gomez and Diego Torres respectively. The team also secured a spot just outside the top ten ranked countries.

Team Oceania - who earned a well-deserved fifth and sixth ranking (New Zealand and Australia, respectively) after last year’s World Championships in Abu Dhabi - will get to showcase their skills yet again. Team Oceania won gold, silver and bronze medals at the recent IMMAF World Championships despite a prolonged period of regional restrictions on sport and travel which led to uncertainty leading up to the Worlds.

The region’s most notable amateur export is multiple-time IMMAF medallist Michelle Montague who has now signed with the Professional Fighters League.

Stand-outs set for the MMA Super Cup include 2019 Oceania gold medallist Prashanth Guda (NZ), 2020 Oceania bronze medallist Auryn Parmley (AUS), and 2020 Oceania gold medallist Troy Fumo.

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