Young Kansas athletes fight to see MMA in the Olympic games

The Olympics are getting closer and closer. This year, the games invited back 28 sports and welcomed in four new ones. However, there is one sport that members of our community are waiting to see on the Olympic stage: MMA.

A handful of young athletes are getting their gloves on and getting ready to represent Kansas on the MMA world stage.

You might be thinking that MMA and kids don’t mix.

Olivia Acree/KSHB

“I started because my mom wanted us to do a self-defense class,” said Nora Longhauser, GAMMA Athlete.

But Fight University owner John Brown explained what makes GAMMA different from MMA.

“Some people, they watch the UFC... fighting championships and they see adults really getting down and getting dirty. The great part about this for kids is that there is no head contact,” said John Brown, Revolution Gym/Fight University founder.

Olivia Acree/ KSHB

In January of 2024, GAMMA USA became recognized as the official USA pankration team . Pankration is another term for mixed martial arts.

Now young fighters, Nora Longhauser and Kate Suter, are on their way to worlds.

Olivia Acree/KSHB

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people, hearing their experiences with the art and just getting the experience of going. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Suter / GAMMA Athlete.

After GAMMA USA worked for years for national team recognition, Suter and Longhauser are hoping to take the sport to the Olympic stage.

“Being on a stage is weird by itself, but on a larger scale, it’s nerve wracking,” said Suter.

A stage their coach has been fighting all his life to see.

“To know you’re standing with a country behind you is a culmination of years and years of training in which a lot of these kids, some of them are just a few years in,” said Brown. “To be able to afford the opportunity at the young age they are and to have that experience, I mean…”

Olivia Acree/KSHB

GAMMA was founded in 2018, making it a relatively new organization. Brown said it could still take years, but the formation of a national team is a step in the right direction.

“That’s everybody in the organization's goal is let’s get there,” said Brown.

The world competition that Suter and Longhauser are gearing up for is in Indonesia, so Fight University has put together a GoFundMe to get the community’s help getting these athletes there.