The Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GMMAF) is set to put the Land of Many Waters on the map in a matter of months when it hosts their first-ever, official, internationally-sanctioned event on local shores on March 23.
The fight night is tentatively set to be a Pro/Am, 14-16 bout card, hosted at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown.
During the official announcement on Tuesday morning, at the same venue, GMMAF President Gavin Singh disclosed one component that would bring international recognition to the event.
From left, Dr Sarwan, Jason Fraser, Michael Singh, Gavin Singh, Neville Persaud and Charles Greaves
“I’m proud to announce that at this event, we will be expecting former UFC fighter and currently a referee and official, Mr Herb Dean, that will give our country the international recognition for the sport that is actually needed,” Singh announced.
Declaring his commitment to the event’s success, MMA’s Pan Am Federation President Jason Fraser made a bid for more corporate sponsorship.
Fraser vowed, “We’re going to actually go over pothole, every hump, every valley and make this a success. Today is the beginning of many more events to come. It will not take us seven years again, after March 23rd, I can assure you guys that. We’ll try to do at least two events or three events a year in Guyana.”
He went on to urge corporate Guyana, “I want to ask Corporate Guyana to come onboard for this event; it’s not a cheap event to do, this event is over 100,000 USD to do. Sorry you guys didn’t announce the cost, but that is the reality of it, it’s going to cost over $100,000 to make this event happen.”
Currently, fast food giants KFC, Burger King, Zoon and Mohamed’s Enterprise are among the sponsors on board.
As such, Singh went on to share why the event can carry such a heavy price tag.
“So, one of the reasons that the cost is so high, in order for this event to be a success, we must have certified officials. Certified referees, certified cut-men, certified ring bearers and having those individuals come here, that’s what takes the cost up,” Singh divulged.
The March 23 fight night will feature fighters out of Canada, USA, Colombia, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana; with T&T’s Keron Bourne set to be one of the headline fighters.
