The President of the Ghana Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Association, Jeff Taylor, has called for increased investment in the sport, insisting that Ghana has the talent to compete at the highest level with adequate support.
Taylor made the appeal during a meeting with sports journalists at the Ghana Olympic Committee Conference Room on Thursday, following Ghana’s return from the 2026 African MMA Championship in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with two medals.
Gabby Fenuku won gold, while Janet Acquah secured bronze at the competition, despite the team competing without financial support.
Taylor praised the athletes and technical team for their commitment, stressing that improved funding, training facilities and logistics would help Ghana produce better results on the continental and international stages.
He also urged athletes from boxing, judo, kickboxing and other combat sports to consider MMA, describing it as an attractive and potentially lucrative discipline.
“MMA is an attractive sport, not dangerous, and can rake in money for the fighters. We need more fighters to come on board,” he said.
Taylor, who was elected Vice President of the continental MMA body during the Abidjan championship, called for a dedicated training facility at the Accra Sports Stadium to support the development of local fighters.
He further expressed hope that Ghana would participate in the World Championship scheduled for Turkey in December, while backing efforts to have MMA included in the Olympic Games.
The Association President also commended Ghanaian technical instructor and referee Derrick Macaire for his contribution to developing the sport across Africa, and appealed to the media and corporate Ghana to support its growth.
Coaches Samuel Nii Tackie and Torado Bruce echoed the call for greater investment, noting that Ghana possesses talented fighters who require improved technical training and motivation to compete successfully at the highest level.
By: Emmanuel Opoku – Journalist