Mixed martial arts in Australia
Country | Australia |
---|---|
Governing body | 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
The influence
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
The explosion of
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
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)
- 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
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- 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: 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
- UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa (2018) Adelaide
- UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva (2019) Melbourne
- UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya (2019) Melbourne
- UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski (2023) Perth
- UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland (2023) Sydney
- UFC 305 (2024) Perth
Local MMA Promotions
- 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
- 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
- Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) 2007–2012[28]
- TUFFA MMA 2009–2011
- Impact Fighting Championships (2010)
- Xtreme MMA (XMMA) 2009–2010[29]
Amateur MMA Organizations
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
- The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes[30]
- Wimp 2 Warrior[31]
- The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia[32]
Gyms
some mixed martial arts training camps and gyms.[33]
- Gamebred Academy – Brisbane, Queensland
- Fightcross MMA – Brisbane, Queensland
- Absolute MMA – Melbourne, Victoria
- Australian Elite Team
- Australian Top Team – Sydney, New South Wales
- Bulldog MMA Parramatta
- Igor MMA Sydney
- Dominance MMA – Melbourne, Victoria
- ELEV8 MMA – Melbourne, Victoria
- Extreme MMA – Melbourne, Victoria
- Hammers Gym
- KMA Top Team – Sydney, New South Wales
- Integrated MMA – Brisbane, Queensland
- Kings Academy of Martial Arts
- Riddlers Gym – Perth, Western Australia
- Sinosic Perosh Martial Arts
- VT1 Mixed Martial Arts Academy – Sydney, New South Wales
- 99ers MMA Gym
- Kumiai Ryu Martial Arts
- Langes Mixed Martial Arts – Sydney, New South Wales
- Perth Kickboxing Academy
- Blue Mountains Martial Arts Centre
- Westside MMA – Caroline Springs, Victoria
- The MMA Clinic – Perth, Western Australia
- Scrappy MMA – Perth, Western Australia
Media outlets
References
- ^ a b "IMMAFA". Immafa.org.au.
- ^ "Australian Sports Attendance Records - Austadiums". Austadiums.com.
- ^ "Mixed Martial Arts goes mainstream: ninemsn launches MMA Kanvas". Mi9.com.au. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Why Mixed Martial Arts has superseded Boxing in Australia". The Roar. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Cage fighting becoming the new 'blood sport' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ Robyn Preston (2013-02-20). "Perth not willing to bring in the bucks through mixed martial arts". Watoday.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Gangs Drawn to Unregulated Mixed Martial Arts Scene". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "The Martial Chronicles: Jiu-Jitsu Conquers Australia". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "The Martial Chronicles: All-In Down Under With Sam McVea". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Australian Olympic Committee: Wrestling". Corporate.olympics.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2012". Abs.gov.au.
- ^ "The Fighter". Australianmmaassociation.com.
- ^ "BJJ Australia » Will / Machado BJJ Australasia". Bjj.com.au. Archived from the original on 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "'World's Fastest Growing Sport' — Fact or Hype?". Cagepotato,com. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
- ^ "Combat Sports Authority | Office of Sport". Combatsports.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Combat Sports Commission". Dsr.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC returns to New Zealand in June for UFC Fight Night 110 in Auckland". MMAjunkie. 2017-03-05. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC 127 Main Card Confirmed For Australia | MMAWeekly.com". www.mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC returns to Australia with Alves vs Kampmann". The Roar. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC Gold Coast show set for Dec 15". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva targeted for UFC's December return to Australia". MMAjunkie. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC Returns to Sydney on Nov. 8 for UFC Fight Night 55". Combat Press. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Melbourne's Etihad Stadium set to host UFC 193". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC returning to Australia for UFC Fight Night 84 in Brisbane on March 19". MMAjunkie. 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Luke Rockhold and 'Jacare' Souza set to rematch at UFC Fight Night 101". MMAjunkie. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "UFC finally returning to Sydney". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Cage Fighting Championship (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
- ^ "Xtreme MMA (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
- ^ "TUF Smashes finals, Pearson vs. Sotiropoulos targeted for UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 14 in Australia". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Wimp 2 Warrior Invades North America". Wombat Sports. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "'TUF: Nations' to air Wednesdays on FOX Sports 1, debuts Jan. 15". MMAjunkie. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Australia MMA Gyms - Tapology". Tapology.com.