Think of Australian athletes and your mind tends to focus on the nation’s famous cricketers, rugby players, maybe tennis stars and of course the odd golfer or two. Australians are not famous for combat sports, aside from a few boxers over the years like Lionel Rose in the 1960s and more recently, Kostya Tszyu, who dominated the light welterweight division around the millennium.
All that has started to change over the past few years, as Australia has got into MMA at grass roots level with more enthusiasm. For some reason, boxing was always seen as a chore to be endured by youngsters down under, but the more nuanced athleticism behind MMA has captured Australian imaginations. This is a nation with a skill for identifying and nurturing sporting talent, which is why it challenges at the highest level despite having a population of only 25 million. These fighters are ensuring Australia is firmly on the MMA map.
Jake Matthews is just hitting his prime
Melbourne fighter Jake Matthews made his MMA debut at Australian regional level in 2012 having just turned 18. He rapidly compiled a 7-0 record before making his UFC debut two years later. In the intervening years, he has recorded some impressive wins against such names as Diego Sanchez, Li Jingliang and Emil Weber Meek.
Matthews was scheduled to face Miguel Baeza at UFC 291 last month, but Baeza pulled out and was replaced by Darrius Flowers. Matthews won the bout quite easily in the second round and there is a sense that he is just hitting his prime.
Casey O’Neill is the real deal
It couldn’t last forever. Queenslander Casey O’Neill came into 2023 undefeated in the octagon, a streak that finally came to an end at UFC 185 in London back in March. In some ways, that will take the pressure off and allow her to fight with more freedom.
The 2021 UFC Newcomer of the Year definitely has something special about her, and there is a strong vibe that next month’s encounter with Brazil’s Viviane Araújo at UFC 293 will see her return to winning ways.
Hany Sbat was more of a casino fighter
When it came to professional achievements, Hany Sbat’s story is one of what might have been. Still, he certainly played his part in putting Australian fighters on the map and is probably the only to have hit the headlines of the national press on the opposite side of the world. Unfortunately, it was for his combat skills in the casino, not the octagon.
Like most Australians, Hany likes a night at the casino, but after his exploits on the town in Melbourne, he might be forced to follow many of his compatriots into cyberspace and use one of the many online casinos trusted by Aussies. That’s because of an incident in 2015 when he attempted to gain access to the high roller tables at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. To cut a long story short, it took 12 security guards to stop him and even then, they needed to summon backup as he emerged from the melee and made for the card tables undaunted, leaving the bouncers bruised and one nursing a broken jaw. In the octagon, his star burned brief but bright, and he won all four of his pro bouts, most recently defeating Mehdi Rahimi in the first round in November 2020, before disappearing quietly from the scene.
Alexander Volkanovski is on top of the world
Wollongong native Volkanovski had an incredible winning streak of 22 fights, during which time, he successfully defended his UFC Featherweight Title five times. That streak came to an end when he lost to Islam Makhachev, after moving up a weight, at UFC 284 back in February 2023.
Nicknamed Alexander The Great, he ensured the return of normal service by coming back to retake his featherweight title with a third round TKO against Yair Rodríguez in July’s UFC 290. He takes his nickname from his mixed Macedonian and Greek parentage, but in UFC, his place among the Greats is already guaranteed.
Robert Whittaker is Australia’s top MMA fighter so far
Volkanovski’s record is impressive, but Robert Whittaker is comfortably the top Australian fighter currently competing in MMA. That is despite his high profile defeat at the hands of Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 271 and the latest upset against Dricus du Plessis last month.
Still aged just 31, Whittaker has already achieved more than many fighters do in an entire career, and he has beaten some of the biggest names of his generation, including Ronaldo Souza, Derek Brunson, Jared Cannonier and Yoel Romeo.
Whittaker remains one of the biggest talents of the sport, and there is little doubt that he still has plenty left in the tank to continue to dominate throughout the 2020s. He also works tirelessly with youth groups across Australia, running clinics to help youngsters from troubled backgrounds to channel their energy into sport, both in the cities and in several remote indigenous communities in the Australian outback.