
(ATR) International Mixed Martial Arts Federation chief executive officer Densign White tells Around the Rings his sport has what it takes to make the Olympic program.
"I think we’ve got the format for an Olympic event," White tells ATR Editor Ed Hula during an interview with ATRadio at the SportAccord Convention in Denmark. "I think we’ve made the sport very, very safe, and I would argue it’s a safer sport than some of the other combat sports recognized.
"I think the medical coverage that we provide for our athletes is not matched by any other combat sport in the world," White claims in an exclusive interview.
The IMMAF attended its second SportAccord Convention at the beginning of April in hopes of joining the list of International Federations recognized by SportAccord. However, White confesses his federation has faced real difficulty in breaking through barriers to become recognized given the changing requirements.
"Now they’ve added that you must have 40 countries that are recognized by government or National Olympic Committees which is quite difficult because what we found is when our National Federations go to their government or National Olympic Committees, they say we cannot recognize you because you’re International Federation is not recognized by SportAccord – so it’s kind of a chicken and the egg situation."
White also says his sport is one of the fastest growing on the planet and explains how social media and strong marketing have fueled such growth on the latest edition of ATRadio below:
Written by Kevin Nutley
Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about theOlympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.

IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.

Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.

IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings

North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
