Andy Stevenson 
Team Ireland descended on the Pala Pellicone sports complex this past weekend as the inaugural IMMAF – WMMAA Youth MMA World Championships took place in Italy. The under-18s tournament served as a platform for mixed martial artists to compete with athletes from all over the world under modified rule sets, designed with the intention of maximising fighter safety.
IMMAF – WMMAA published their Youth MMA rule sets back in February after a unanimous board decision to disallow head strikes. In addition, youth athletes are divided into the following three categories:
- IMMAF Youth A 16-17s (U18): 3 x 2 minute rounds duration with a 1 minute rest period.
- IMMAF Youth B 14-15s (U16): 1 single round of 4 minutes duration.
- IMMAF Youth C 12-13s (U14): 1 single round of 3 minutes duration.
It was a successful weekend for Irish MMA as the team hauled in nine medals, with Sarah Elliott-Sheridan and Sara Ioana Vasiliu Gierosu notably winning gold. Below is the full list of Irish medalists:
Women’s Youth A: Flyweight -56.7kg/125lbs
Gold: Jaylene Martinez (United States)
Silver: Kiya O’Sullivan (Ireland)
Bronze: Giulia Volpe (Italy)
Women’s Youth A: Featherweight -65.8kg/145lbs.
Gold: Sarah Elliott-Sheridan (Ireland)
Silver: Gulmira Azatbek (Kazakhstan)
Bronze: Lillian Murphy (Ireland)
Men’s Youth A: Feather Weight -65.8kg/145lbs.
Gold: Oleksandr Huliaev (Ukraine)
Silver: Conor Sheridan (Ireland)
Bronze: Antonios Abou Eid (Lebanon)
Bronze: Kurtis Campbell (United Kingdom)
Men’s Youth A: Lightweight -70.3kg/155lbs.
Gold: Viktor Ivanov (Bulgaria)
Silver: Islamdin Cherivmurzaev (Russia)
Bronze: Ian Stoby (Canada).
Bronze: Sean Kenna (Ireland)
Women’s Youth C: -44kgs/97lbs.
Gold: Sara Ioana Vasiliu Gierosu (Ireland)
Silver: Alexis Erwin LexiErwin (United States)
Bronze: Isabel Lees (United Kingdom).
Men’s Youth C: -44kgs/97lbs
Gold: Kai Sekgawa (United States)
Silver: Brandon O’Brein (Ireland)
Bronze: Mio Madsen (Germany)
Women’s Youth B: -67kgs/147lbs
Gold: Asia Martari (Italy)
Silver: Lily Kent (Ireland)
Women’s Youth B: +67kgs/147lbs
Gold: Asia Martari (Italy)
Silver: Delia Dior (Italy)
Bronze: Lily Kent (Ireland)
The rest of the medalists and results can be found here. You can also find the full details of IMMAF’s rule sets here.
