Mixed martial arts in Australia

Overview of Mixed martial arts in Australia

Country| Australia

|

Governing body| International Mixed Martial Arts Federation of Australia[1]
National team(s)| Australia

Audience records

Single match| UFC 243, 57,127, 6 October 2019, Marvel Stadium[2]

Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in the country.[3][4][5][6][7]

## History

[edit]

The influence traditional martial arts, Olympic wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu have shaped MMA in Australia, along with the combat sports of Boxing and Kickboxing/Muay Thai.

Between 1905–1914, Australian's witnessed a prizefighting novelty called "All-in" which started with "jiu jitsu" demonstrations and developed into a no-holds barred fighting phenomenon.[8] One of the most notable participants was Sam McVea, an African-American heavyweight boxing champion who would participate in a highly publicised "all-in" fight in Lismore, Australia, against 'Prof.' Stevenson in 1913.[9]

However, the early hybrid didn't last and during most of the 20th century traditional martial arts schools and striking based gyms existed apart as with Amateur wrestling in Australia.[10] Traditional martial arts in general are well attended and feature in the top ten organised sports for children, for both males and females, in Australia.[11]

In the 1990s the three grappling disciplines of BJJ, amateur wrestling and Catch wrestling provided the base for the modern sport.[12] Mixed Martial Arts, in its recognized and regulated form, came to Australia via the Ultimate Fighting Championship's emergence in 1993, but was predated by Vale tudo in Brasil and Shoot wrestling in Japan. MMA gained an underground following through video and bootleg copies of UFC events in the mid 1990s.

The explosion of BJJ globally, through Gracie BJJ schools, was assisted by the success of Royce Gracie at UFC 1-4, but BJJ was first introduced into Australia by John Will in 1989.[13] Initially dedicated Australian practitioners travelled overseas to gain their belts and returned to start schools. Mixed Martial Arts training and gyms began to evolve.

The long history of boxing and the more recent variant of kickboxing/Muay Thai in Australia provided a large injection of fighters with a striking base. The sport of MMA has been described as the fastest growing sport in the twenty first century.[14]

### Sanctioning

[edit]

States and territories of Australia there are different sanctioning bodies and rules. Sanctioning bodies include: Combat Sports Authority (NSW),[15] Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board (VC) and Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia (WA).[16]

## Notable fighters (1990s to present)

[edit]

* Alex Chambers \- UFC
* Alexander Volkanovski \- UFC
* Anthony Perosh \- UFC
* Arlene Blencowe \- Bellator
* Ashkan Mokhtarian \- UFC
* Bec Rawlings \- Bellator
* Callan Potter \- UFC
* Chris Haseman \- UFC
* Damien Brown \- UFC
* Dan Kelly \- UFC
* Elvis Sinosic \- UFC
* George Sotiropoulos \- UFC
* Jack Della Maddalena \- UFC
* Jake Matthews \- UFC
* Jessica-Rose Clark \- UFC
* Jimmy Crute \- UFC
* Justin Tafa \- UFC
* Nadia Kassem \- UFC
* Mark Hunt \- UFC
* Megan Anderson \- UFC
* Peter Graham \- Bellator
* Robert Whittaker \- UFC
* Rob Wilkinson \- PFL
* Steve Erceg \- UFC
* Tai Tuivasa \- UFC
* Tyson Pedro \- UFC

## Promotions

[edit]

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

[edit]

* UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez (2010) Sydney[17]
* UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (2011) Sydney[18]
* UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann (2012) Sydney[19]
* UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson (2012) Gold Coast[20]
* UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot (2013) Brisbane[21]
* UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Rockhold (2014) Sydney[22]
* UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt (2015) Adelaide[23]
* UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm (2015) Melbourne[24]
* UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir (2016) Brisbane[25]
* UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson (2016) Melbourne[26]
* UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura (2017) Sydney[27]
* UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold (2018) Perth[28]
* UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa (2018) Adelaide[29]
* UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva (2019) Melbourne[30]
* UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya (2019) Melbourne[31]

* UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski (2023) Perth[32]
* UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland (2023) Sydney[33]

* UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya (2024) Perth[34]

* UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 (2025) Sydney[35]

### Local MMA Promotions

[edit]

* Aftershock MMA – Brisbane, Queensland – Professional and Amateur Fight Promotion
* Australian Fighting Championship – Melbourne, Victoria
* BRACE
* Carnage in the Cage (CITC) – Mackay, Queensland, Australia
* Coastal Combat – Sunshine Coast, Queensland
* Eternal MMA – Gold Coast, Queensland
* Fightworld Cup – Gold Coast, Queensland
* HAMMA Fight Night – Brisbane, Queensland
* Hex Fight Series – Melbourne, VIC
* Minotaur Mixed Martial Arts (Melbourne Fight Club) – Melbourne
* Nitro MMA
* Storm Damage – Australian Capital Territory
* Superfight MMA (Superfight Australia) aka (Mach1FightClub) – New South Wales
* Unarmed Combat Unleashed (UCU) – Emerald, Queensland
* Urban Fight Night – Liverpool, New South Wales
* Winners Circle Fighting Championship (WCFC) - Newcastle, New South Wales
* Wollongong Wars (WW) – Wollongong
* XFC – Australian and New Zealand professional and amateur
* Xtreme Impact Fighting Championships (XIFC) – Toowoomba, Queensland
* Demolition Fight Series – Sunshine, Victoria

#### Past

[edit]

* Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) 2007–2012[36]
* TUFFA MMA 2009–2011
* Impact Fighting Championships (2010)
* Xtreme MMA (XMMA) 2009–2010[37]

#### Amateur MMA Organizations

[edit]

Some may have one or two pro fights but their focus is on AMMY.

* Amateur Cage Fighting Australia (ACFA) – Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
* International Mixed Martial Arts Federation of Australia[1]

## Reality television

[edit]

* The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes[38]
* Wimp 2 Warrior[39]
* The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia[40]

## Media outlets

[edit]

* Fight News Australia
* Submission Radio
* From The Stands

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "IMMAFA". Immafa.org.au.
2. ^ "Australian Sports Attendance Records - Austadiums". Austadiums.com.
3. ^ "Mixed Martial Arts goes mainstream: ninemsn launches MMA Kanvas". Mi9.com.au. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
4. ^ "Why Mixed Martial Arts has superseded Boxing in Australia". The Roar. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
5. ^ "Cage fighting becoming the new 'blood sport' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
6. ^ Robyn Preston (2013-02-20). "Perth not willing to bring in the bucks through mixed martial arts". Watoday.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
7. ^ "Gangs Drawn to Unregulated Mixed Martial Arts Scene". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
8. ^ "The Martial Chronicles: Jiu-Jitsu Conquers Australia". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
9. ^ "The Martial Chronicles: All-In Down Under With Sam McVea". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
10. ^ "Australian Olympic Committee: Wrestling". Corporate.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
11. ^ "1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012". Abs.gov.au.
12. ^ "The Fighter". Australianmmaassociation.com.
13. ^ "BJJ Australia » Will / Machado BJJ Australasia". Bjj.com.au. Archived from the original on 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
14. ^ "'World's Fastest Growing Sport' — Fact or Hype?". Cagepotato.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
15. ^ "Combat Sports Authority | Office of Sport". Combatsports.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
16. ^ "Combat Sports Commission". Dsr.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
17. ^ "UFC returns to New Zealand in June for UFC Fight Night 110 in Auckland". MMAjunkie. 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
18. ^ "UFC 127 Main Card Confirmed For Australia | MMAWeekly.com". www.mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
19. ^ "UFC returns to Australia with Alves vs Kampmann". The Roar. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
20. ^ "UFC Gold Coast show set for Dec 15". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
21. ^ "Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva targeted for UFC's December return to Australia". MMAjunkie. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
22. ^ "UFC Returns to Sydney on Nov. 8 for UFC Fight Night 55". Combat Press. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
23. ^ Richardson, Daniel (2015-02-17). "UFC: Hunt to meet Miocic in Adelaide". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
24. ^ "Melbourne's Etihad Stadium set to host UFC 193". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
25. ^ "UFC returning to Australia for UFC Fight Night 84 in Brisbane on March 19". MMAjunkie. 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
26. ^ "Luke Rockhold and 'Jacare' Souza set to rematch at UFC Fight Night 101". MMAjunkie. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
27. ^ "UFC finally returning to Sydney". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
28. ^ Staff (2017-10-31). "Western Australia gets its first UFC event with February pay-per-view card". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
29. ^ Ben Harvy (2018-07-08). "UFC announces return to Adelaide for fight night event on December 2". news.com.au. Retrieved 2018-07-08.
30. ^ Staff (2018-11-04). "UFC announces 2019 first quarter schedule: ESPN debut Jan. 19 in Brooklyn". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
31. ^ Nick Walshaw (2019-07-23). "Record crowd expected for Aussie UFC blockbuster". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
32. ^ "Report: UFC 284 set for Australia return in Perth in February". MMA Junkie. 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
33. ^ Nolan King (2023-05-17). "UFC 293 heads to Sydney, Australia as first event of new four-year New South Wales deal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
34. ^ Farah Hannoun (2024-03-28). "UFC announces multiyear deal for twice-annual events in Perth starting with UFC 305". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
35. ^ Nolan King (2024-10-16). "UFC 312 officially announced for Syndey". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
36. ^ "Cage Fighting Championship (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
37. ^ "Xtreme MMA (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
38. ^ "TUF Smashes finals, Pearson vs. Sotiropoulos targeted for UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 14 in Australia". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
39. ^ "Wimp 2 Warrior Invades North America". Wombat Sports. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
40. ^ "'TUF: Nations' to air Wednesdays on FOX Sports 1, debuts Jan. 15". MMAjunkie. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.

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Sport in Australia

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By state/territory|

* ACT
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International competitions|

* Olympics (Winter)
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