Australian Fighting Championship

Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne

Australian Fighting ChampionshipCompany type| Private

|

Industry| Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded| 2010
Founder| Adam Milankovic
Headquarters|

Australia

Key people

| Kelly Seif, Shaun McIntyre
Website| http://afcmma.com.au/

Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne. In 2013, AFC was described as Australia's leading MMA organisation by MMA Kanvas[1] and was part of Sherdog's list of top 50 global MMA organisations (2014). Since AFC 4, all events were successfully streamed live via pay-per-view.

AFC was the second-ranked Australasian promotion in 2013 according to MMA media outlet Fight Sport Asia.[2] AFC CEO Adam Milankovic has had multiple media appearances promoting the sport of MMA to the public. AFC has showcased the talents of elite Australian and New Zealand mixed martial artists alongside international talent.[3] 2017 saw the expansion of the promotion into Mainland China and a major rebranding to the Australasian Fighting Championship (AFC).[4]

## Cage ban

[edit]

The 2008 "cage ban" in Victoria meant MMA competitions, while legal, had to be conducted inside a boxing ring and not a purpose built cage (with the exception of AFC 9 in Albury, New South Wales).[5] In the Victorian State election in November 2014, The Victorian branch of the Labor Party campaigned to revoke the cage ban. With success in the election the ban is set to be repealed allowing AFC to promote MMA in a caged enclosure to ensure optimum safety of fighters.[6]

## Final champions

[edit]

See also: List of current mixed martial arts champions and Mixed martial arts weight classes

Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title defenses

|
|
|
|

Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) |  Tai Tuivasa | 15 October 2016 | 0
Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |  Rameau Sokoudjou | 28 October 2017 | 0
Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) |  Glenn Sparv | 7 April 2018 | 0
Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |  Theo Christakos | 7 April 2018 | 1
Lightweight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |  Blake Donnelly | 1 December 2019 | 0
Featherweight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |  Alexander Volkanovski | 19 March 2016 | 0
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) |  Gustavo Falciroli | 17 May 2014 | 0

## Australian Fighting Championship Title history

[edit]

### Australian Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 120 kg (264.6 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Soa Palelei
def. Joe Kielur | AFC 3
Geelong, Australia | 14 April 2012  |

1. def. Sean McCorkle at AFC 4 on 7 December 2012

Palelei vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
2  |  Brandon Sosoli
def. Andre Meunier | AFC 13
Melbourne, Australia | 14 June 2015  |
3  |  Tai Tuivasa | AFC 16
Melbourne, Australia | 18 June 2016  |

1. def. James McSweeney at AFC 16 on 15 October 2016

Tuivasa vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.

### Australian Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 93 kg (205.0 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Jamie Abdallah
def. Daniel Almeida | AFC 12
Melbourne, Australia | 22 March 2015  |

1. def. Randall Rayment at AFC 14 on 12 September 2015

2  |  Rameau Sokoudjou | AFC 21
Melbourne, Australia | 28 October 2017  |

### Australian Fighting Championship Middleweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 84 kg (185.2 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Steven Kennedy
def. Manuel Rodriguez | AFC 7
Melbourne, Australia | 14 December 2013  |
Kennedy vacated the title.
2  |  Zein Saliba
def. Daniel Way | AFC 12
Melbourne, Australia | 22 March 2015  |
Saliba vacated the title.
3  |  Rob Wilkinson
def. Jamie Abdallah | AFC 15
Melbourne, Australia | 19 March 2016  |
Wilkinson vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
4  |  Israel Adesanya
def. Melvin Guillard | AFC 20
Melbourne, Australia | 28 July 2017  |
Adesanya vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
5  |  Glenn Sparv
def. Stu Dare | AFC 22
Melbourne, Australia | 7 April 2018  |

### Australian Fighting Championship Welterweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 77 kg (169.8 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Jacob S Lee
def. Callan Potter | AFC 9
Melbourne, Australia | 17 May 2014  |
2  |  Manuel Rodriguez  | AFC 14
Melbourne, Australia | 12 September 2015  |
Rodriquez vacated the title after suffering an early first round loss to 24-year-old Jacob Stephen Lee, securing Jacob’s 4th championship victory 2 Feb 2016.
3  |  Barry O'Meara
def. Anton Zafir 22 Dec 2016 | AFC 22
Gold Coast, Australia | 2 February 2016 – 7 May 2019  |

1. def. Jennys Box by way of knock out in the first second of the first round during AFC 5 on 10 May 2017
2. def. Greg Goodchild by way of technical knock out to end. this flattened Gregs nose AFC 6 on 24 August 2018

### Australian Fighting Championship Lightweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 70 kg (154.3 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Dan Hooker
def. Rusty McBride | AFC 3
Geelong, Australia | 14 April 2012  |

1. def. Rusty McBride at AFC 5 on 10 May 2013
2. def. Nick Patterson at AFC 6 on 24 August 2013

Hooker vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.
2  |  Bernardo Magalhaes
def. Kieran Joblin | AFC 10
Albury-Wodonga, Australia | 16 August 2014  |
Magalhaes vacated the title.
3  |  Issac Hardman
def. James Bishop | AFC 19
Shaanxi, China | 15 April 2017  |

1. def. Rob Hill at AFC 21 on 28 October 2017

### Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 66 kg (145.5 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Alexander Volkanovski
def. James Bishop | AFC 13
Melbourne, Australia | 14 June 2015  |

1. def. Jamie Mullarkey at AFC 15 on 15 August 2016

Volkanovski vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.

### Australian Fighting Championship Bantamweight Championship

[edit]

Weight limit: 62 kg (136.7 lb)
No.  | Name  | Event  | Date  | Defenses

|
|
|
|

1  |  Gustavo Falciroli
def. Kai Kara-France | AFC 9
Melbourne, Australia | 17 May 2014  |

## Scheduled events

[edit]

#  | Event Title  | Date  | Arena  | Location

|
|
|
|

## Past events

[edit]

#  | Event Title  | Date  | Arena  | Location

|
|
|
|

23  | AFC 23  | 1 December 2019 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
22  | AFC 22  | 7 April 2018 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
22  | AFC 21 | 28 October 2017 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
21  | AFC 20 | 28 July 2017 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
20  | AFC 19 | 15 April 2017 | AFC Arena  | Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
19  | AFC 18 | 14 April 2017 | AFC Arena  | Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
18  | AFC 17 | 15 October 2016 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
17  | AFC 16 | 18 June 2016 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
16  | AFC 15 | 19 March 2016 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
15  | AFC 14 | 12 September 2015 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
14  | AFC 13 | 14 June 2015 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
13  | AFC 12 | 22 March 2015 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
12  | AFC 11 | 22 November 2014 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
11  | AFC 10 | 16 August 2014 | Bunton Park  | Albury, Australia
10  | AFC 9 | 17 May 2014 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
9  | AFC 8 | 22 February 2014 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
8  | AFC 7 | 10 May 2013 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
7  | AFC 6 | 24 August 2013 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
6  | AFC 5 | 14 December 2013 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
5  | AFC 4 | 7 December 2012 | Melbourne Pavilion  | Melbourne, Australia
4  | AFC 3 | 14 April 2012 | Geelong Arena | Geelong, Australia
3  | AFC 2 | 3 September 2011 | Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre | Melbourne, Australia
2  | AFC Fight Night | 25 June 2011 | State Netball & Hockey Centre | Melbourne, Australia
1  | AFC 1 | 12 November 2010 | State Netball & Hockey Centre | Melbourne, Australia

[7]

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Israel Adesanya (UFC)
* Hector Lombard (UFC)
* Soa Palelei (UFC)
* Dylan Andrews (UFC)
* Richie Vaculik (UFC)
* Peter Graham (Bellator)
* Bec Rawlings (UFC)
* Dan Kelly (UFC)
* Jake Matthews (UFC)
* Dan Hooker (UFC)
* Damien Brown (UFC)
* Alexander Volkanovski (UFC)
* Tai Tuivasa (UFC)
* Luke Jumeau (UFC)
* Tyson Pedro (UFC)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Adam Ireland (23 April 2013). "Aussie MMA fans set for live-streaming action with Epicentre.tv". Mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
2. ^ "Fight Sport Asia's 2013 Asian MMA Awards Results - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
3. ^ "Australian Fighting Championship heads to Melbourne for Saturday's AFC 7 - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
4. ^ "The latest on Australian Fighting Championship 18 and the promotion's china expansion". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
5. ^ "The cage-fighting boom - all that's missing is the cage". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
6. ^ "Victorian state election opens door to UFC mega-event in Melbourne". FSA - FightSport Asia.
7. ^ Sherdog.com. "Australian Fighting Championship Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 September 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* List of Events on Sherdog

* v
* t
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Professional mixed martial arts organizations

Australia|

| Current|

* XFC (AUS)
* Hex Fight Series
* Eternal MMA

|

Defunct|

* AFC
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Brazil|

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Defunct|

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Defunct|

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United Kingdom|

| Current|

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|

Defunct|

* 10th Legion
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United States|

| Current|

* UFC
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|

Defunct|

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Other countries/
territories|

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|

Defunct|

* Desert Force Championship
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* SLAMM!!

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Top-level professional sports leagues of Australia

Men's|

| Majors|

* A-League Men
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|

Minors|

* Australian Baseball League
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* F-League
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* Hockey One
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Women's|

| Majors|

* A-League Women
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* Cricket
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|

Minors|

* Australia Women's Championships
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* Hockey One
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Others|

| Individual|

* Athletics
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|

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* Supercars Championship

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