Renowned monthly boxing tournament in Nigeria, Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame, has been rebranded to Boxing & Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame with its first amateur MMA tournament under the umbrella of the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts, alongside its regular monthly boxing tournament which was held on Sunday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The tournament featured GAMMA Nigeria Open National MMA Championship featuring fighters from different states in the country jostling for spots on the first national Nigerian MMA team to the 13th African Games taking place in Ghana next month.
According to the organisers, the introduction of MMA comes at a historic moment where MMA will feature for the first time at the Olympics and Nigeria will be proudly represented in 10 weight divisions, – six for males and four for females.
A total of 60 fighters participated in both boxing and MMA during the tournament and the bouts were managed and officiated by Lagos State Boxing Association and the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts in Nigeria.
Founder of LBHF and Minister of Finance Wale Edun described the rebrand event as a revolution.
“This is another Boxing Hall of Fame occasion, it’s an evolution because now, we not only have boxing, but we also now have mixed martial arts and it’s just a sign of the times. Things are developing for us, what matters is that young Nigerians are given the opportunity to train, to be safe, to be secure and to develop their skills and talent. To be given a chance to really excel and make Nigeria proud both on the World stage as amateurs and even professionals.
President of GAMMA Nigeria, Valentine Moral lauded the organisers and expressed optimism in the potential of the sports in Nigeria.
“This is a very big opportunity for MMA in Nigeria and the entire continent. This is the first time we are having it officially at the African Games, though as a demonstration but for the officials and the athletes, it’s a big bonus and we are going to Ghana not just to demonstrate, we are going there to top the medals table,” he said.
