MMA To Make Asian Games Debut In Japan 2026

In a historic move, the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is set to make its debut at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. The announcement was made by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Tuesday. 

The sport will feature six  medal events in its Asian Games debut and be classed as a discipline under Combat Sports, along with kurash and jujitsu.

“The latest development in the compilation of the sports programme came at the 41st meeting of the AINAGOC Board of Directors at Nagoya City Hall on Monday, April 28,” the OCA said.

The Asian Mixed Martial Arts Association (AMMA) will oversee the event in partnership with OCA.

The Asian Games 2026 are scheduled to be held in Japan’s Aichi and Nagoya prefectures from September 19 to October 4, with around 15,000 athletes expected to compete.

At least three federations have reached out to IOA seeking recognition as the national federation of Mixed Martial Arts. However, none of them is recognised by the Asian or world bodies as per documents, said an IOA official aware of the development.

Until recently, global bodies International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) were staking claim as the sole world governing body. 

“IOA is already speaking to various MMA stakeholders and gathering information from the ground about them. We have to see whether they fulfil the criteria to be granted affiliation as a nationally recognised Mixed Martial Arts federation,” said an IOA official.

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Abdul Munneer, treasurer of AIMMAF, said that transparent selection trials will pave the way for the Asian Games but federations must come together to navigate the issue if countries without national federations are to send athletes to Japan next year.

MMA, a full-contact combat sport that combines techniques from various martial arts disciplines such as boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and karate, was also part of the African Games in 2023. While Mixed Martial Arts leaders had expressed desire for the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles-owing to its growing popularity in the United States-the International Olympic Committee ultimately did not approve the proposal.