Athletes have arrived in Tajikistan for the IMMAF Asian Championships ©IMMAF

Athletes from 13 countries are set to compete at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Asian Championships, beginning tomorrow in Tajikistan.

Junior and senior bouts are on the agenda at Dushanbe's Kasri Tennis Va Machmaai Varzishi Ob.

Action starts tomorrow with the round of 16.

Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have all sent teams to Tajikistan.

The host nation has entered 37 athletes, while Turkmenistan is entering a senior IMMAF event for the first time.

Bahrain's impressive squad includes Ramazan Gitinov and Sabrina Laurentina De Sousa, ranked as the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Gitinov is the reigning and back-to-back world welterweight champion while De Sousa has won the last two world titles in the women's featherweight division.

Sabrina Laurentina De Sousa is one of the stars named in the Bahrain squad ©IMMAF
Sabrina Laurentina De Sousa is one of the stars named in the Bahrain squad ©IMMAF

Ten senior men's weight categories and are on the agenda, while there are entries across five senior women's weight classes.

This is the first edition of the IMMAF Asian Championships.

"We are hosting the IMMAF Asian Championship in Tajikistan and it’s very important event for all the people of our country," Tajikistan MMA Federation President Davron Juraev said.

"Dushanbe will remain in the heart of all the participants as a special and unforgettable place."