Mixed martial arts in Australia

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 Australia.[3][4][5][6][7]

CountryAustralia
Governing bodyInternational Mixed Martial Arts Federation of Australia[1]
National team(s)Australia
Audience records
Single matchUFC 243, 57,127, 6 October 2019, Marvel Stadium[2]

History

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 Shoot 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 Catch 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

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)

Promotions

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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
  • Eternal MMA - Gold Coast, Queensland
  • Fightworld Cup - Gold Coast, Queensland
  • HAMMA Fight Night - Brisbane, Queensland
  • Hex Fight Series - Melbourne, Victoria
  • 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

Past

Amateur MMA Organizations

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

Reality television


Gyms
See also: List of professional MMA training camps

some mixed martial arts training camps and gyms.[33]

Media outlets

References
  1. "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, by Daniel (2015-02-17). "UFC: Hunt to meet Miocic in Adelaide". NZ 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. "Cage Fighting Championship (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
  29. "Xtreme MMA (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
  30. "TUF Smashes finals, Pearson vs. Sotiropoulos targeted for UFC on FX 6 on Dec. 14 in Australia". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  31. "Wimp 2 Warrior Invades North America". Wombat Sports. 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  32. "'TUF: Nations' to air Wednesdays on FOX Sports 1, debuts Jan. 15". MMAjunkie. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  33. "Australia MMA Gyms - Tapology". Tapology.com.
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