The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE mixed martial arts community in the Bahamas is preparing to receive a definitive boost with the establishment of the first ever association within the Bahamas Martial Arts Federation (BMAF).

The Bahamas Mixed Martial Arts Association (BMMAA) is one of several new genres of martial arts to officially come under the umbrella of the BMAF this week after a series of meetings with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

Mixed martial arts has reached unprecedented levels of success and notoriety worldwide and, particularly in the Bahamas, with the success of native Bahamians - MMA veteran Yves Edwards and Youtube sensation Kimbo Slice.

"The BMMAA was formed and accredited this week and the newest and most well known of the many forms of martial arts joining the BMAF, which is the umbrella which all martial arts in the country comes under," according to BMMAA vice president Dale Dean Jr.

"The BMMAA was formed to sanction and to accredit schools and events that host or teach MMA. We will provide rules and guidelines for anyone to teach or host MMA events and we will also oversee and enforce these regulations," he said.

To increase the profile of the sport in short order, the association plans to host a trio of seminars before the end of the year, a pair on the sport of MMA and another on self defense.

Dean Jr said that although the organisation is still in its infant stages, they have lofty expectations for its growth and development.

Interest

"The interest is high but the participation right now is at about a medium, not as much trainers or fighters as we would like it to be with just a few small schools sporadically placed," he said.

"The recent MMA explosion has trickled down to the Bahamas and our goal is to create a Bahamian league of fighters to fight both amateur and professionally around the world.

"We are recognised overseas but trying to create full-time career fighters takes dedication from fighters, government sponsors and, most of all, it takes funding. The BMMAA is a great start."