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.[1][2][3][4][5]

Fighters (1990's to current)

Promotions

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC 110 (2010), UFC 127 (2011), UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann (2012), UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson (2012), UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Bigfoot (2013), UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Rockhold (scheduled for November 8/9, 2014)

Local MMA Promotions

past

Reality television

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), Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board (Victoria).

Gyms

Media Outlets

Live streaming Platform

Epicentre.tv - The number one combat sports live streaming platform in the world

References

  1. ↑ "Mixed Martial Arts goes mainstream: ninemsn launches MMA Kanvas". Mi9.com.au. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  2. ↑ "Why Mixed Martial Arts has superseded Boxing in Australia". The Roar. 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  3. ↑ "Cage fighting becoming the new 'blood sport' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  4. ↑ Robyn Preston (2013-02-20). "Perth not willing to bring in the bucks through mixed martial arts". Watoday.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  5. ↑ "Gangs Drawn to Unregulated Mixed Martial Arts Scene". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  6. ↑ "Cage Fighting Championship (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
  7. ↑ "Xtreme MMA (Australia) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog.
  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".
  12. ↑ "The Fighter".
  13. ↑ "BJJ Australia » Will / Machado BJJ Australasia". Bjj.com.au. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  14. ↑ "'World's Fastest Growing Sport' — Fact or Hype?". Cagepotato. Retrieved 2014-02-11.