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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
In the 1990s the three grappling disciplines of BJJ, amateur wrestling and Catch wrestling provided the base for the modern sport. The modern form of MMA came to Australia via the Ultimate Fighting Championship's emergence in 1993. This sport gained an underground following through video and bootleg copies of UFC events in the mid 1990s. However, it was not until early 2000s when the modern MMA became a sport that enjoys worldwide recognition.
The starting of the international expansion of BJJ, 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. 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.
Sanctioning States and territories of Australia there are different sanctioning bodies and rules. Sanctioning bodies include: Combat Sports Authority (NSW), Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board (VC) and Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia (WA).
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 Quillan Salkilld - UFC Robert Whittaker – UFC Rob Wilkinson – PFL Steve Erceg – UFC Tai Tuivasa – UFC Tyson Pedro – UFC
Promotions
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez (2010) Sydney UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch (2011) Sydney UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann (2012) Sydney UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson (2012) Gold Coast UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot (2013) Brisbane UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Rockhold (2014) Sydney UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt (2015) Adelaide UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm (2015) Melbourne UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir (2016) Brisbane UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson (2016) Melbourne UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura (2017) Sydney 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: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya (2024) Perth
UFC 312: Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 (2025) Sydney UFC 325: Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 (2026) Sydney
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 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 Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) 2007–2012 TUFFA MMA 2009–2011 Impact Fighting Championships (2010) Xtreme MMA (XMMA) 2009–2010
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
Reality television The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Wimp 2 Warrior The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia
Media outlets Fight News Australia Submission Radio From The Stands
References