Is MMA at the 2024 Summer Olympics?

Mixed martial arts has had a more storied history than other sports when it comes to being accepted on a global level. Whilst the world is becoming more open to the sport as the years go on, there is still quite a long way for the sport to go before being fully accepted.

In January 2020, France made headlines when it finally legalized MMA. But fellow European nation Norway still has the sport banned due to the 'Knockout Law', which bans any sport where a victory or points could be scored due to a knockout.

With several major promotions such as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Professional Fighters League (PFL), Bellator FC, ONE Championship, MMA is as big as it ever been. As a result, it is expected that there would be question whether the sport will be a part of the programs at the 2024 Summer Olympics taking place in Paris, France.

The Olympic Games are known for not including all sports and, when it comes to combat sports at the Games, this rings very true. In previous years, MMA has found itself excluded from the Olympics, and it has never been a part of the Games.

With the introduction of breaking (breakdance) and the continuation of newer sports such as skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing at this year's Games, there is one question: Is MMA at the 2024 Summer Olympics?

Is MMA at the 2024 Summer Olympics?

The short answer is no. This will come as a shock to very few.. As mentioned before, MMA has never been a part of the sports program at the Olympics. There continues to be debates as to why this is the case.

Some argue that fighters would not want to fight multiple times in a short time span whilst others argue that, because MMA includes all different types of styles of fighting, those individual styles are already represented and there simply is no need for MMA. Others simply chalk it down to MMA being "too violent."

To convince the International Olympic Committee that MMA deserves to be included in the Games would take serious capital, as well as a few Olympic cycles to even be considered. On top of that, there would need to be a minimum of 70 countries supporting.

For the 2028 Summer Olympics (which will take place in Los Angeles), five new sports were approved to be added to the Games. These include baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash.

At present, it seems that there is no plans for MMA at the Olympics. Suffice to say, it will still be quite a while before MMA is included in the Games (if at all).

The 2024 Summer Olympics also see another combat sport depart from the program - karate. Despite this, combat sports fan favorite boxing will still be at the Games, as well as Judo, Taekwondo, and wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).

So, combat sports fans will still be able to get their fill of hard-hitting action at the 2024 Summer Olympics.