what happen to WAMMA?

KSWWe should make a new WAMMA and call it G-MMA. The G-MMA Rankings will determine who will fight for the World title

kayneoTheRisingWarrior wrote:

KSWWe should make a new WAMMA and call it G-MMA. The G-MMA Rankings will determine who will fight for the World title

Dude that's so genesis idea!

i hope wekka get to see your post !

We should discuss this with the members and have a brainstorm to put the idea.

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts Is Formed
November 16th 2007

PRESS RELEASE
With Mixed Martial Arts growing into a mainstream sporting power, a team of business and combat sport veterans today launched WAMMA, the first sanctioning body for the burgeoning sport. The World Alliance of Mixed Martial (WAMMA) will create the first weight division ranking system for MMA fighters, establish unified rules for the sport, ensure the safety and welfare of the fighters, and sanction world championship bouts. WAMMA hopes to provide unifying legitimacy to the sport by enabling the best fighters in the world to face off against each other, no matter the promotion they work for.

WAMMA was announced at a press conference today at the New York City sports bastion Gallagher’s Steak House in Manhattan. The press conference was lead by David Szady along with former wrestling star Bill Goldberg, MMA Legends Pat Miletich and Don Frye, boxing manager Godwin Asifo, and nationally known attorney Michael Lynch.

WAMMA will be headed up by President and CEO David Szady, a retired 33-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his career with the FBI, David served as Assistant Director for Counter Intelligence, as a Presidential appointee as the first National Counter Intelligence Executive, and two years as the head of the CIA’s Counter Espionage Group.

“WAMMA is here to stay,” said Szady. “All of the promotions have great fighters and deserving champions, but there are simply too many champions in too many varying weight divisions – it is confusing to the average fan. WAMMA will change that by sanctioning unified world championship fights, increasing the integrity and viability of the sport for the fighters and the fans, while at the same detracting nothing from individual MMA promotions.”

To rank fighters by weight division, WAMMA has established an independent ranking committee composed of some of the most knowledgeable figures in the MMA world. The ranking committee will operate much as the panel of sportswriters who determine the Associated Press college football and basketball rankings does. It will operate independently of the WAMMA management, which will have no influence over the rankings. The committee will be responsible for ranking the top-ten fighters in each weight division and recognizing a unified champion in each.

In addition to the ranking committee, WAMMA has established committees to oversee three other areas:International MMA Relations, Fighter Safety Referee and Judge Evaluations

WAMMA is also proud to announce that the world-renowned Andrews Institute and famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews have agreed to serve as the sanctioning body’s Medical Advisory Board. This partnership will enable WAMMA to enhance its ability to care for fighters both in and out of the ring.

WAMMA’s “Gloves” insignia was designed and created for the organization by LeRoy Neiman, the world famous American artist best known for his brilliantly colored images of sporting events and figures.

“We couldn’t have been more honored to have LeRoy Neiman supporting us,” said Michael Lynch, Executive Vice President and COO of WAMMA. “To have someone of his stature design our insignia speaks to the support WAMMA has already received from the sports world.”

Miletich and Caplan Resign from WAMMA
By Josh Stein on May 19, 2009

WAMMASince the inception of WAMMA, there have been those who, at least publicly, have been incredibly supportive of the organization. None of those is more significant that MMA legend and innovator Pat Miletich, who has explained, at length, the importance of an honest rankings system.

Sam Caplan, a well respect writer on the sport, has similarly supported WAMMA and acted as the organizer for their rankings board before moving into a more significant capacity as COO.

The departure of Caplan and Miletich is not amicable (as was expressed in the press release in which both are quoted as having issues with the WAMMA board of directors). While it’s not clear what these disputes are over, there will certainly be theories which come out shortly (personally, I already have a few).

There has been some frustration with the failure of WAMMA to have little public impact outside of handing out belts and publishing their monthly rankings. It must be worth acknowledging that, during a time when the sport is building respect in the mainstream, but failing to move into some states that it, perhaps, should be, that there is a certain degree of failure on the part of an organization like WAMMA to aid in the assist.

It seems clear, at least to me (and this is, of course, where I will make a point of differentiating between speculation and public statements, as this is speculation), that the departure of Miletich and Caplan has a great deal to do with the failure of WAMMA to act as an effective advocacy group on behalf of the sport.

Of course, the internal goals and workings of WAMMA were something that many heard updates on periodically, but it seems that with the departure of Miletich (the most effective and credible spokesperson for the organization) and Caplan (one of the individuals considered most qualified to take the position), it seems good that those comments were off the record, as it’s hard to believe that an organization could possibly be accomplishing anything substantial covertly as it suffers from this kind of internal dissent.

There have been many internal goals within WAMMA, which include (but are not limited to) creating their proposed “one belt, one king” system, building substantial pension opportunities for fighters and progressing with respect to the legalization of the sport in major markets (at this point, New York seems the most potent example, but I’ll get to that momentarily). If I look back at the recent months, WAMMA has not managed to so much as start a debate on those first two issues, much less make any progress injecting the ideas into the minds of the fans.

As far as legalization of the sport goes, I think that New York, the ultimate large market paradigm of the uphill battle the sport has been fighting, and perhaps the last great stronghold of opposition in the United States, has been perfect opportunity for an organization like WAMMA to make a difference. The UFC, seen as anti-union by those who oppose the Fertittas, is easily opposed because of the controversy of its figurehead, Dana White, but the potential for WAMMA to offer another voice in the conversation was certainly present. In that respect, WAMMA has failed.

NOTE: As someone who supported WAMMA when I thought that there was a genuine sense of consciousness, a sense of awareness of the needs of the sport, within the organization, I have to say that I’ve been painfully disillusioned. The release of the few individuals with a legitimate understanding of the way that the sport operates is a nail in the coffin, but not exactly a blindside.

When an organization fails to make even the slightest impact on the news of a sport, and then it is revealed that two of the leaders within the organization have stepped down and have no problem acknowledging that the split is not amicable, there needs to be a serious evaluation of the competence and capacity of the organization as a whole. As much as I liked the initial plan of WAMMA, as much as I was willing, initially, to present support based on what they were trying to do and not what had actually been accomplished, I can only shake my head.

I wish all the best to Caplan and to Miletich. Both are great representatives of the sport and will have an impact on the industry wherever they go.

Where in the World is WAMMA?
Posted on July 13, 2010, 10:34 PM by Joey Santosus

Since July 19, 2008, when Fedor Emelianenko defeated Tim Sylvia at Affliction: Banned, "The Last Emperor" has been touted as the WAMMA heavyweight champion, an accomplishment that M-1 Global and his manager Vadim Finkelstein seem very proud of to date. While few have seen the title as of late, even fewer even understand its intended purpose or even who or what WAMMA is all about.

WAMMA, or the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, was created as a sanctioning organization for MMA. WAMMA idealizes many admirable goals, such as "promoting the integrity, legitimacy, and longevity of mixed martial arts" by way of unifying rules and rankings. Additional objectives include investing in the sport by contributing to fighter pension funds, insurance programs, financial education seminars, and referee and judge training. Furthermore, unlike most sanctioning bodies, WAMMA does not charge promoters or tax fighters.

On November 15, 2007 the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts was officially announced and WAMMA would garner much needed support amongst the MMA community. Seven months later on June 14, 2008 it was announced that the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia at Affliction: Banned would be for the new WAMMA heavyweight crown. With the stage set, it took Fedor just 36 seconds to choke out Sylvia and lay claim to the newly created title.

Later the same year on December 29, 2008, the WAMMA lightweight title was introduced to the masses. The division champion was to be decided by a match at Dynamite!! 2008 between Shinya Aoki and Eddie Alvarez. In similar fashion it took just 1:32 and a heel hook to crown Aoki the new WAMMA lightweight champion.

Since its conception WAMMA has faced some sizable obstacles in its quest for a more structured MMA. While it seeks to unify both rules and rankings, doing so requires unified consensus or acceptance of its legitimacy. In other words, all promotions and parties to whom it may concern must recognize their standing. The UFC however, as the dominant promotion in the sport, has not volunteered its recognition. While others such as Affliction, Adrenaline MMA, Strikeforce, Dream, K-1 and M-1 Global has, or had in some cases, cooperated, the UFC has never expressed interest in co-promotion of any kind. Quite a large hurdle if you consider that as of February 2010, over 75 percent of WAMMA's top ranked fighters were contracted by ZUFFA LLC, the parent company of both the UFC and WEC.

In the years since the crowning of WAMMA's heavyweight and lightweight champions Aoki has yet to defend his WAMMA title, despite fighting seven times and losing in two of such matches. Fedor Emelianenko, WAMMA's heavyweight title holder, has successfully defended twice, once against Andrei Arlovski and again against Brett Rogers. In his latest bout at Strikeforce: Fedor vs Werdum, word was that once again Fedor's WAMMA title would be on the line. However, following Emelianenko's defeat, the title strangely has not changed hands.



Heading into the Strikeforce heavyweight bout, MMAFighting's Ariel Helwani invited M-1 representative Evgeni Kogan to appear as a guest on his show "The MMA Hour," where he questioned Kogan on the matter. Kogan stood firm in M-1's belief in the honor:

"What it means, and what it means for us, is the idea that anyone can fight anyone. ...Eventually everyone is going to fight everyone else. It's going to have to happen. It's inevitable. That's what the WAMMA belt stands for. It stands for the hope for the future that the best people in the world will meet the best people in the world without organizations, without contracts, without all this stuff getting in the way. That's why we hold the WAMMA belt in such importance. ... It stands for an idea. Not only for Fedor but for us."

When Helwani pressed the issue of its defense in the upcoming bout, Kogan responded, "Good question. I believe that it would be."

However, Kogan has since retracted his statements, "I was mistaken," Kogan told MMAFighting. "The WAMMA belt was not on the line in the June 26 bout."

As of late, the legitimacy of these titles have been called into question. With Aoki failing to defend and losing two fights since capturing the lightweight title and M-1 Global's abduction of the heavyweight strap, some are wondering if these titles carry any worth at all. With recent events considered, the questioning seems reasonable. Will these titles ever actually change hands or has the WAMMA slogan "One Belt One King" been taken to the extreme?

In response to that question Kogan simply replied, "I'd put this question to WAMMA, I think it's more their territory."

A fair response in essence, however that poses another issue. No one seems to know if WAMMA is even still in operation. Their website does not appear to have been updated since November of 2009. Many of the members who were outsourced the organization's ranking responsibilities have not received any recent requests for input. Some such members have reported that their emails to WAMMA inquiring on the organization's status have continued to go unanswered. One former employee of the company has not been able to reach his former bosses in reportedly over 6 months.

It seems evident at this point that the once well-intended entity may have abandoned its quest for unity within MMA. If so, a belt that once stood for purity and openness within the sport, will more than likely be reduced to the value of the materials used to construct it. With no one to force Fedor to hand it over, it will ultimately end up another trophy mounted on the wall of an M-1 Global office.

TeamJohnPerretti wrote:There's a pic out there.

During one of the Affliction ppv's the WAMMA guy is right behind Fedor holding up the WAMMA belt (upside down).

stu3ufc wrote:anything like WAMMA would be useless now since UFC has their own rankings and they dont co-promote

KSW wrote:

stu3ufc wrote:anything like WAMMA would be useless now since UFC has their own rankings and they dont co-promote

It´s actually the opposite. The mma world needs an international mma organization that puts on world title fights and uses Global rankings. This would be a great way for fans to discover the actual sport and not just a brand.