A Guyana Mixed Martial Arts team will depart local shores tomorrow to participate at the prestigious International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Amateur World Championship in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates from January 24th-29th. The six-member team which will represent the Golden Arrowhead, comprises Corwin D’Anjou, Webster McRae, Ijaz Cave, Akeem Fraser, Christopher James and John Campayne.
D’Anjou will compete in the Men’s Welterweight Division (77.1kg), while McRae, Cave, Fraser, James, and Campayne will participate in the Middleweight (83.9kg), Light Heavyweight (93kg), Light Heavyweight (93kg), Heavyweight (120.2kg) and Super Heavyweight (300kg) Divisions respectively.
Experience Judoka Bruce Fraser will serve as the coach. The other members of the travelling contingent are GMMAF Executive Member Dr. Sawan Jagnarain, President of the Guyana Police Force Martial Arts Academy Latoya Collins, and Sports Journalist Rawle Toney.
Speaking at a press conference held at the National Racquet Centre yesterday, President of the Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GMMAF), Gavin Singh, said that the country’s maiden participation at the event is a major accomplishment for the sport as Guyana will be the only representative from the Caribbean.
According to Singh, Guyana’s participation is the manifestation of a process that started two years prior.
“Because of the accreditation, Guyana now has the opportunity to participate in the World Championships moving forward and in the near future, the Olympics. We’ve been working vigorously with the Guyana Police Force Martial Arts Academy, Phoenix Jujitsu Club to ascertain the quality of athletes we’re sending off to represent our nation.”
Meanwhile, D’Anjou said, “I wouldn’t go into details in terms of our preparation because the World is watching, so we’ll allow that to be a surprise, but just know that we’re well equipped; we worked very hard and we will not take this opportunity lightly.”
Some 529 athletes from more than 60 countries are scheduled to participate in the championships. The senior and junior nation tournament, which is being hosted by UAE Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Federation in partnership with Palms Sports, will be staged at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Zayed Sports City.
Support for the event is also being provided by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. The event will be broadcast live globally on immaf.tv.
Among the companies that have provided support to the team includes Banks DIH, Bounty Farm, Akbar Inc, Sandcorp Development, Zoon, Universal Travel, WR Services, Eureka Labs, Acarai Properties, and Northwest Securities.
