Chapter 1 in the rules outline what makes an athlete eligible criteria PMMAF to compete in Amateur MMA Championships:
- In Eligibility Criteria PMMAF The contestant shall be of legal age 18.
- The contestant shall be in good physical and mental condition. The contestant will be examined during the medical check.
- The contestant shall be well prepared to compete in MMA.
- The contestant shall have experience from competing in full contact martial arts.
- When entering a competition, the contestant is responsible for ensuring that all relevant martial arts experience is reported.
- The contestant is to produce a valid identification card upon registration.
To ensure the safety of the athletes, all national teams may be asked to provide documentation of an athlete’s previous martial arts experience, including any applicable video footage for review by the PMMAF.
Regional rule sets included French Pankration, Italian FILA rules matches, Finnish B-Class and UK Semi-Pro among others. PMMAF fine-tuned its definition of an Amateur athlete and introduced a stricter clearance process ahead of every competition.
PMMAF Championship competitions are open to Amateur athletes only, i.e. not athletes who have competed at a professional level.
The Eligibility Criteria PMMAF considers an athlete to be on a professional level and thus not eligible for participation if he/she meets any one of the following criteria:
– Holds a pro MMA or professional combat sports license issued by any sanctioning body.
– Is under contract with a Pro MMA or professional combat sport promotion.
– Has received a purse for participating in an MMA or professional combat sports match.*
– Has competed in a professional level MMA or combat sport bout regardless of non-payment or absence of contract.**
– Has participated in a professional MMA match under the Unified Rules of MMA or equivalent in the country where the bout took place.***
– Has competed against an opponent with a Pro MMA record at the time the bout took place.****
– Has a professional combat sport (not just MMA) record published anywhere, subject to confirmation.