Mixed martial arts -- without the wire cage and the blood -- bids to make the Olympics

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — Mixed martial arts — without the wire cage and with less blood and mayhem — could be coming to the Olympics.

It's a long shot. However, a version of the sport — let's call it “MMA Light” — is being contested at the two-week Asian Games. The campaign to get the sport into the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 is being led by Chinese billionaire Gordon Tang.

“We have developed a rule set specifically focused on the safety and well-being of athletes, and aligned with Olympic values,” Tang said. “The debut of MMA at the Asian Games is an important step in that journey.”

Tang heads the Federation of International Mixed Martial Arts, one of many groups lobbying to represent a very fractured global sport.

Removing the cage is a must for any chance to gain entry. But cage or no cage, it's a rough road to get the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

“We think without the cage we will have a better alignment with the Olympic values and hopefully recognition from the IOC,” Galastein Tan, the director general of the FIMMA, told The Associated Press.

First, the IOC would have to approve a governing body of the sport — there are many — and then Brisbane organizers would have to put it on their schedule.

So far the Australians have not announced what sports they might add and, of course, it's too late to get into the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

The IOC, in an email to The Associated Press, clarified that as of now “mixed martial arts does not meet ... eligibility criteria” for the Olympics.

The top issue is the sport's violent image. The IOC has had issues with violence depicted in esports, so that rub is clear.

This version at the Asian Games looks more like judo or boxing, set on an open mat. No wire cage. Both men and women fight, and there are two styles — traditional with more grappling and modern with more striking.

Safety measures include: no elbows can be thrown; contestants wear small gloves and shin pads; no knees or kicks to the head are allowed when a fighter is on the ground.

“It takes time to change a perception,” Tan said. “We hope to be able to share that there is a new from of MMA, and this form is more aligned with the Olympics.”

Alex Engelhardt, the executive vice president of FIMMA, suggested this was an attempt to bring MMA into the “normal” range of sports and concentrate less on spectacle.

“It's very challenging in the sense that the whole mind set in the sport is so focused on promotions,” Engelhardt said. He might have been referring to a UFC fight three months ago on the grounds of the White House.

Tan argues that MMA could be a draw for the IOC as it tries to stay relevant with new sports. MMA is popular, youth oriented, and would not require any unique venue construction. It could share venues with other combat sports.

However, that could be a negative. MMA is yet another combat sports and the Olympics already have boxing, wrestling, judo and taekwondo.

“MMA is popular globally, able to engage the fans at a gut level and attract fans at a youth level,” Tan replied.

The FIMMA also has an influential president in Tang, a Chinese billionaire property developer who seems to know his way around the IOC. His biography, offered by FIMMA, lists him with “more than a decade of senior roles within the Olympic Movement.”

He is also a vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Tang lauded the sport as having a “strong place in the Olympic movement because it brings together athletes from different martial arts backgrounds.”

Tan said Tang had already talked with IOC President Kirsty Coventry, and also met her this week at the Asian Games.

“I would like to say we are not in the preliminary stage (with the IOC)” Tan said. “We are in advanced stages.”

“There will be different fans,” Tan added. “Those who love MMA in a cage and fans who love MMA in the open field of play. Not that one is wrong or one is the right way. For us we are very clear that the focus is for the sport to be in the Olympics.”

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AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

See full AP coverage of Asian sports here

Mirzobek Umarov of Tajikistan reacts after winning the men's modern 60kg mixed martial arts final against Firdaus Atamuratov of Uzbekistan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Kanjutha Phattaraboonsorn of Thailand, left, reacts after winning the women's modern 54kg mixed martial arts final against Diana Pogosian of Bahrain at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Firdaus Atamuratov of Uzbekistan, left, competes with Mirzobek Umarov of Tajikistan during their men's modern 60kg mixed martial arts final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Mukhammad Nabiev of Bahrain, right, competes against Yerkingali Burkutalin of Kazakhstan during their men's traditional 77kg mixed martial arts final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Firdaus Atamuratov of Uzbekistan, bottom, competes with Mirzobek Umarov of Tajikistan during their men's modern 60kg mixed martial arts final at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — India handed Sri Lanka a crushing 147-run defeat to win the women's T20 cricket gold medal at the Asian Games on Tuesday.

Led by Smirti Mandhana’s 79 and equally splendid contributions from Shifali Verma (48) and Richa Gosh (49), India posted its third-highest T20 score of 216-3 winning the toss and electing to bat.

Sri Lanka, which chased down its biggest-ever T20 score of 177 to beat Pakistan in the semifinals, succumbed to Indian spinners and was bowled out for 69 in 15.4 overs. Captain Chamari Athapaththu was the top scorer with 29 off 21 balls.

In a repeat of the 2023 final won by India, Sri Lanka crashed against Deepti Sharma, who bagged three wickets for just six runs off her four overs. Verma (2-3), Shree Charni (2-13) and Shreyanka Patil (2-9) also shared six wickets between them.

Athapaththu’s dismissal in the seventh over saw Sri Lanka lose its last eight wickets for just 26 runs.

Earlier, left-handed Mandhana and Verma set the tone of a mammoth total with their 99-run opening-wicket stand in 10 overs as Sri Lankan bowlers gave away too many boundary balls.

Verma smashed three sixes and three fours before she was caught at short third while attempting a reverse hit. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s struggle continued in the tournament with another unimpressive knock of 19 off 17 balls, but Gosh and Mandhana ensured India set up a stiff target.

Mandhana smashed seven sixes and five fours in 45 balls before she holed out in the outfield in the 17th over, before Gosh’s onslaught, which featured three sixes and six fours, provided a perfect finish.

Gosh smashed fast bowler Mithali Ayodhya for two sixes and a boundary in the final over which cost Sri Lanka 25 runs.

Earlier, Pakistan clinched the bronze medal by beating Bangladesh by 31 runs. Captain Fatema Sana made 45 in Pakistan’s score of 145-8 and spinner Umm-e-Hani grabbed 3-10 as Bangladesh was restricted to 114-7.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

Sri Lanka's CJK Athapaththu Mudiyanselage reacts after getting out by India's Deepti Sharma during the women's gold medal T20 cricket game between India and Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Shafali Verma celebrates with teammates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Imesha Dulani Witharana during the women's gold medal T20 cricket game between India and Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Smriti Shriniwas Mandhana bats during the women's gold medal T20 cricket game between India and Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Indian players celebrate after winning the women's gold medal T20 cricket game between India and Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)