Are Australian MMA fighters good enough to mix it up in the UFC? This is a question in which I will attempt to answer, and my answer may sound somewhat biased due to the fact I am an Australian.

Australian MMA has grown exponentially over the years. From the beginning way back in 1997 to the present with UFC 110 in Sydney this year. The rise and support of the Australian public has been on display, and with great enthusiasm.

Looking at some of the best Australian fighters, a few names leap out for those who know of Aussie fighters in the UFC. Present day we have George Sotiropoulos, probably the best known Australian fighter in the UFC. And with his impressive domination of Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson at UFC 110, one of the few Aussies who could earn his shot at the UFC gold. Other names are those of Elvis Sinosic, Chris Haseman and Anthony Perosh. Now, Sinosic and Haseman have fought before, where Sinosic lost by submission (a chin to the eye, many consider an eye gouge which is an illegal move, but was legal when they first fought), the two where meant to mix it up again at UFC 110, but Sinosic had to pull out due to a last minute should injury. So, the rematch never went ahead. Sinosic and Perosh also own and run Sinosic-Perosh Martial Arts (SPMA) in Sydney.

Sinosic has fought in the UFC numerous times. He has fought Michael Bisping (loss via TKO, 1:20 Rd 2), Alessio Sakara (loss via unanimous decision), Forrest Griffin (loss via TKO, 3:22 Rd 1), Renato Sobral (loss via unanimous decision), Evan Tanner (loss via doctor stoppage, 2:06 Rd 1), Tito Ortiz for the LHW title (loss via TKO, 3:32 Rd 1) and Jeremy Horn (win via submission, 2:59 Rd 1). Now, Sinosic's UFC record may not look that impressive with a 1-5-0 (win-loss-draw) record. But, if you look at his opponents, they were/are all top ranked fighters on the UFC roster.

Haseman has fought once in the UFC against Evan Tanner (loss via unanimous decision), and even though he hasn't fought as much as Sinosic in the UFC, many still remember his legendary bout against Tanner. And several others think that he has fought in the UFC many, many more times.

Perosh has fought in the UFC a total of three times. But, has not been successful in any of these appearances. Perosh has fought Jeff Monson (loss via TKO, 2:22 Rd 1), Christian Wellisch (loss via unanimous decision) and more recently Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic (loss via doctor stoppage, 5:00 Rd 2).


Going back to our 'young blood' of Aussie UFC fighters, George Sotiropoulos. Sotiropoulos has fought in the UFC more times than Haseman. And has fought some good fighters. His first UFC fight came at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, where he versed Team Hughes fighter, (Sotiropoulos was on Team Serra), Billy Miles. George trained in New York with Serra for this fight and won in convincing fashion via TKO at just 1:36 of the opening round. His next foray into the Octagon was at UFC Fight Night 13 against Roman Mitichyan (who didn't make it into the house on TUF 6 due to a fractured elbow in fighter evals), again George won in style beating the Armenian at 2:24 of Round 2 by TKO. George Sotiropoulos is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and he hasn't even used his BJJ (he holds a black belt in the discipline) yet.

Sotiropoulos' next bout would come in the form of TUF8 competitor, George Roop. Sotiropoulos would win again in entertaining fashion, sinking in a Kimura at 1:59 of the second round to keep his winning streak alive. After the Roop fight, George faced off against Jason Dent, again winning the bout with his fantastic BJJ skills at 4:36 of round 2 by armbar. The most recent win of George's was on his home turf of Australia at UFC 110 where he dominated veteran Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson to win a unanimous decision.

With this impressive rise through the UFC ranks, who can match George's skills? Enter Kyle Noke. Now, Noke hasn't fought for the UFC, although he is a member of the TUF11 cast under coach Chuck Liddell. Noke is a Queenslander (and I love the bloke out of bias cause I am also a Queenslander, and he's a good figher). Noke won his prelim fight into the house in bloody fashion, scoring takedowns and dropping elbows. His first fight in the TUF tournament was great, submitting Clayton 'Green and Black Hair' Whatshisname by triangle choke to advance to the next round.

Noke has fought on some solid Australian cards such as Warriors Realm, appearing for the promotion a total of seven times. And with a record of 16-4-1 (win-loss-draw) he is one of the more experienced Australian fighters not already to have fought in the UFC. Now, with Noke appearring on this season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, being the second Australian (George Sotiropoulos was the first) to appear on the show, doorways could open up for Australian MMA fighters.

After UFC 110 in Sydney this year, Dana White (UFC President) mentioned, in vague terms, about the possibility of having an Australian team on The Ultimate Fighter show. Similar to season nine USA vs UK.

Now, we can sit and debate as to why Australia hasn't had the most success in the Octagon. Some may say it is because we don't have the best gyms here, and others may say it's because we do not have the instinct to fight. Or lack interest in the past time.

Personally, I disagree with all of these statements. And here's why:

WE DON'T HAVE THE BEST GYMS

Australia has some great MMA gyms. Sure, they may not be up to the calibre of the American, Brazilian or Japanese gyms, but they are good.

In QLD alone, there is CCMMA (part of Kickstart Fitness in Townsville) where Ian Bone was trained (before bailing and starting his own gym), and the likes of Edwin 'The Mexican Bomber' Arana, Fiona Muxlow, Gokhan 'Carnage' Turkyilmaz train.

Also in Townsville there is Body Torque. Body Torque is Ian Bone's gym, after he left CCMMA he started the gym with Australian Muay Thai fighter Brett Johnston. With such fighters on the roster as Aaron Raffin (originally from my hometown), Ian Bone himself, Jimmy White and others.

Gladstone aslso has a good gym, in Gladstone Martial Arts. And in Brisbane there is Integrated MMA, with head coach Danny Higgins. Integrated has great fighters Matt 'Rolling Bear' Cain, Adrian 'The Hunter' Pang, current TUF 11 cast member Kyle 'KO' Noke, Michael Mortimer, Tony 'The Jedi' Rossini and more.

Over the rest of Australia there are good gyms. Sinosic and Perosh's gym SPMA, Jon Leven's gym Customised Fitness Solutions, and many more. Just Google them.

So, can we really argue that the gyms aren't good enough in Australia? Probably, but I say no.

Moving on...

LACK OF INTEREST/INSTINCT

I may be the wrong person to write about this topic because I have been fighting my entire life, I threw my first punch at 8 years old. So fighting is what I was born to do.

Yes, I do understand that not everyone has this natural instinct. My parents, for example, are pacifists. My two sisters have never been in any fights of real substance. And my older brother, well... Anyone who knows my brother and me would swear we are the same person... Enough said.

Popularity for MMA in Australia has grown, quite dramatically. Almost every second male (mainly in the age bracket of 18-25) is wearing a TapOut, Silver Star or TUF t-shirt. Many even have a reasonable amount of knowledge about the newest MMA stars on the international scene, predominately the UFC. And although they may not understand the grappling side of the game, they do understand what it means when one fighter taps out to a submission.

Now, with this much interest in the younger, male demographic, then why is there not as many going to their local martial arts gym and starting to train. When the ROCKY movies came out, boxing gyms were overwhelmed with people wanting to start training to become the next 'Rocky Balboa'. Whether or not they realised that Rocky Balboa was a fictional character is still yet to be seen.

If a fictional character like Rocky can inspire the masses to start boxing with his story, then why can't a real life MMA fighter inspire the masses in a similar way? Take UFC newcomer, Jon 'Bones' Jones for instance. He wrestled in high school and was heading to college to wrestle. But, didn't end up going because his girlfriend was pregnant. Jones started fighting as a way to hook up with some easy money. Picking up several of his unorthodox techniques from Youtube and rarely using his wrestling, Jones has only been fighting for a total of 22 months! Jones' first 6 fights took place in a short time, only 3 months in which he went undefeated. Now sporting a near perfect record of 10-1-0 (win-loss-draw) with his only loss coming via a disqualification against Matt Hamill due to Jones raining down illegal elbows from the mounth position, Jon Jones is one to watch, and one to derive motivation from.

This debate as to why Australian MMA fighters are not on the same level as the rest of the world can go on and on. I have said my piece. My opinion may not be correct but I have spoken honestly from my point of view.

Feel free to suggest your own opinions as to how Australian MMA could improve.