Mixed martial arts in Australia

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] 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

• The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes^[40]
• Wimp 2 Warrior^[41]
• The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia^[42]

• Fight News Australia
• Submission Radio
• From The Stands