MMA is on the rise in this country but we still lack one thing: a home grown UFC world champion.
Australians love sports with Australian champions. If we don’t have someone to cheer on, we don’t watch, it’s a pretty simple equation.
Very few sports manage to maintain mainstream interest in this country without an Australian superstar.
So who will be the first Australian to earn the UFC title?
The candidates in and out of the UFC aren’t exactly thick on the ground, so let’s explore the possibilities.
The most obvious candidates are the four Aussies currently fighting in the UFC: George Sotiropoulous, Kyle Noke, Bernardo ‘Trekko’ Magnalahes and Anthony Perosh.
It is a mean bunch of fighters, and it isn’t impossible that one of them could rise above and take out the crown. Not impossible, but unfortunately, fairly improbable.
Both Sotiropoulous and Noke have had a moment in the sun. At the start of 2011 Sotiropoulous in particular looked ready for a title shot. Since then the losses and injuries have started to pile up for both of them, and age isn’t on their side. The sun may have gone down for these two.
‘Trekko’ Magnalahes had strong form heading into his UFC debut earlier this year. He had only been beaten once, a loss he avenged. However, the step up proved a little too much and he was well and truly out-classed by another debutant.
Don’t write him off yet but it looks as if Magnalahes will do well just to make it beyond the preliminary cards in the UFC.
The only one of the quartet coming off a win is light-heavyweight veteran, Anthony ‘Hippo’ Perosh. Six long years ago Perosh was just one win away from a heavyweight title shot against Tim Sylvia. But in between that fight and his current three-fight win streak lies a string of disappointing losses.
‘Hippo’ is a great ambassador for the sport and it is great to have him back in the UFC, but this current hot streak is more a triumphant ride off into the sunset than a build-up to a title shot.
We can’t even win adopting a Kiwi, as Australia has been known to do when trying to snag an Oscar or a rugby league player. Mark Hunt is a popular slugger but not title material, and James Te Huna is too far from the top to be in serious consideration.
If none of our current UFC contenders have a chance, then Australia’s best shot at finding an MMA world champion in the next few years may well sit in the left field, outside of the UFC.
Hector Lombard is middleweight champion for Bellator Fighting Championships, the largest MMA Association outside of Zuffa-owned UFC and Strikeforce.
The Cuban-born Australian sits at 31-2-1, is on a massive 20-fight win streak that dates back to a 2007 draw, and has developed a reputation for brutal KOs.
He has more or less run out of contenders for his Bellator belt and is ranked by some in the top five middleweights in the world.
His contract runs out this year and he would undoubtedly be an exciting addition to the UFC roster.
Unfortunately Lombard is a middleweight, and at the top of that particular ladder sits the greatest fighter in this young sport’s history, an undisputed UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.
Lombard is a powerful fighter but he would most likely need to wait for Silva to hang up his gloves, and even then would have to get past the kind of strong competition that just doesn’t exist outside the UFC roster.
Australia’s first MMA world champion probably only started training in the last few years and won’t start competing for at least another five to ten.
It took Australia over 50 years to produce its first boxing champion after the world title was originally recognised.
The world moves at a faster rate these days, but Australian fighters sit a long way behind their American, Brazilian and even European opponents.
Honestly, I wish I was wrong. Nothing would stimulate public interest more than an Aussie we could call the world champ, but sorry folks, it won’t happen any time soon.
Let’s hope the waiting just makes it all that sweeter.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
Jason Moloney has survived an enthralling 12-round world title defence against Saul Sanchez in Canada, opening the door to a blockbuster unification fight in…
Conor McGregor says he's returning to the UFC for a fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas, calling it the "greatest…
