Australian Fighting Championship

Australian Fighting Championship
Company type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded	2010
Founder	Adam Milankovic
Headquarters	Australia
Key people	Kelly Seif, Shaun McIntyre
Website	http://afcmma.com.au/

Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) was an Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation based in Melbourne. In 2013, AFC was described as Australia's leading MMA organisation by MMA Kanvas^[1] and was part of Sherdog's list of top 50 global MMA organisations (2014). Since AFC 4, all events were successfully streamed live via pay-per-view.

AFC was the second-ranked Australasian promotion in 2013 according to MMA media outlet Fight Sport Asia.^[2] AFC CEO Adam Milankovic has had multiple media appearances promoting the sport of MMA to the public. AFC has showcased the talents of elite Australian and New Zealand mixed martial artists alongside international talent.^[3] 2017 saw the expansion of the promotion into Mainland China and a major rebranding to the Australasian Fighting Championship (AFC).^[4]

Cage ban

The 2008 "cage ban" in Victoria meant MMA competitions, while legal, had to be conducted inside a boxing ring and not a purpose built cage (with the exception of AFC 9 in Albury, New South Wales).^[5] In the Victorian State election in November 2014, The Victorian branch of the Labor Party campaigned to revoke the cage ban. With success in the election the ban is set to be repealed allowing AFC to promote MMA in a caged enclosure to ensure optimum safety of fighters.^[6]

Final champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title defenses
Heavyweight	265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)	Tai Tuivasa	15 October 2016	0
Light Heavyweight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)	Rameau Sokoudjou	28 October 2017	0
Middleweight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)	Glenn Sparv	7 April 2018	0
Welterweight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)	Theo Christakos	7 April 2018	1
Lightweight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)	Blake Donnelly	1 December 2019	0
Featherweight	145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st)	Alexander Volkanovski	19 March 2016	0
Bantamweight	135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)	Gustavo Falciroli	17 May 2014	0

Australian Fighting Championship Title history

Australian Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit: 120 kg (264.6 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Soa Palelei def. Joe Kielur	AFC 3 Geelong, Australia	14 April 2012	1. def. Sean McCorkle at AFC 4 on 7 December 2012
Palelei vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
2	Brandon Sosoli def. Andre Meunier	AFC 13 Melbourne, Australia	14 June 2015
3	Tai Tuivasa	AFC 16 Melbourne, Australia	18 June 2016	1. def. James McSweeney at AFC 16 on 15 October 2016
Tuivasa vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.

Australian Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Championship

Weight limit: 93 kg (205.0 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Jamie Abdallah def. Daniel Almeida	AFC 12 Melbourne, Australia	22 March 2015	1. def. Randall Rayment at AFC 14 on 12 September 2015
2	Rameau Sokoudjou	AFC 21 Melbourne, Australia	28 October 2017

Australian Fighting Championship Middleweight Championship

Weight limit: 84 kg (185.2 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date
1	Steven Kennedy def. Manuel Rodriguez	AFC 7 Melbourne, Australia	14 December 2013
Kennedy vacated the title.
2	Zein Saliba def. Daniel Way	AFC 12 Melbourne, Australia	22 March 2015
Saliba vacated the title.
3	Rob Wilkinson def. Jamie Abdallah	AFC 15 Melbourne, Australia	19 March 2016
Wilkinson vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
4	Israel Adesanya def. Melvin Guillard	AFC 20 Melbourne, Australia	28 July 2017
Adesanya vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
5	Glenn Sparv def. Stu Dare	AFC 22 Melbourne, Australia	7 April 2018

Australian Fighting Championship Welterweight Championship

Weight limit: 77 kg (169.8 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Jacob S Lee def. Callan Potter	AFC 9 Melbourne, Australia	17 May 2014
2	Manuel Rodriguez	AFC 14 Melbourne, Australia	12 September 2015
Rodriquez vacated the title after suffering an early first round loss to 24-year-old Jacob Stephen Lee, securing Jacob’s 4th championship victory 2 Feb 2016.
3	Barry O'Meara def. Anton Zafir 22 Dec 2016	AFC 22 Gold Coast, Australia	2 February 2016 – 7 May 2019	1. def. Jennys Box by way of knock out in the first second of the first round during AFC 5 on 10 May 2017 2. def. Greg Goodchild by way of technical knock out to end. this flattened Gregs nose AFC 6 on 24 August 2018

Australian Fighting Championship Lightweight Championship

Weight limit: 70 kg (154.3 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Dan Hooker def. Rusty McBride	AFC 3 Geelong, Australia	14 April 2012	1. def. Rusty McBride at AFC 5 on 10 May 2013 2. def. Nick Patterson at AFC 6 on 24 August 2013
Hooker vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.
2	Bernardo Magalhaes def. Kieran Joblin	AFC 10 Albury-Wodonga, Australia	16 August 2014
Magalhaes vacated the title.
3	Issac Hardman def. James Bishop	AFC 19 Shaanxi, China	15 April 2017	1. def. Rob Hill at AFC 21 on 28 October 2017

Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight Championship

Weight limit: 66 kg (145.5 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Alexander Volkanovski def. James Bishop	AFC 13 Melbourne, Australia	14 June 2015	1. def. Jamie Mullarkey at AFC 15 on 15 August 2016
Volkanovski vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.

Australian Fighting Championship Bantamweight Championship

Weight limit: 62 kg (136.7 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses
1	Gustavo Falciroli def. Kai Kara-France	AFC 9 Melbourne, Australia	17 May 2014

Scheduled events

#	Event Title	Date	Arena	Location

Past events

#	Event Title	Date	Arena	Location
23	AFC 23	1 December 2019	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
22	AFC 22	7 April 2018	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
22	AFC 21	28 October 2017	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
21	AFC 20	28 July 2017	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
20	AFC 19	15 April 2017	AFC Arena	Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
19	AFC 18	14 April 2017	AFC Arena	Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
18	AFC 17	15 October 2016	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
17	AFC 16	18 June 2016	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
16	AFC 15	19 March 2016	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
15	AFC 14	12 September 2015	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
14	AFC 13	14 June 2015	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
13	AFC 12	22 March 2015	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
12	AFC 11	22 November 2014	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
11	AFC 10	16 August 2014	Bunton Park	Albury, Australia
10	AFC 9	17 May 2014	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
9	AFC 8	22 February 2014	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
8	AFC 7	10 May 2013	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
7	AFC 6	24 August 2013	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
6	AFC 5	14 December 2013	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
5	AFC 4	7 December 2012	Melbourne Pavilion	Melbourne, Australia
4	AFC 3	14 April 2012	Geelong Arena	Geelong, Australia
3	AFC 2	3 September 2011	Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre	Melbourne, Australia
2	AFC Fight Night	25 June 2011	State Netball & Hockey Centre	Melbourne, Australia
1	AFC 1	12 November 2010	State Netball & Hockey Centre	Melbourne, Australia

^[7]

Notable alumni

References

^ Adam Ireland (23 April 2013). "Aussie MMA fans set for live-streaming action with Epicentre.tv". Mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "Fight Sport Asia's 2013 Asian MMA Awards Results - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "Australian Fighting Championship heads to Melbourne for Saturday's AFC 7 - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "The latest on Australian Fighting Championship 18 and the promotion's china expansion". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ "The cage-fighting boom - all that's missing is the cage". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
^ "Victorian state election opens door to UFC mega-event in Melbourne". FSA - FightSport Asia.
^ Sherdog.com. "Australian Fighting Championship Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 September 2017.

External links

[1] Adam Ireland (23 April 2013). "Aussie MMA fans set for live-streaming action with Epicentre.tv". Mmakanvas.ninemsn.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[2] "Fight Sport Asia's 2013 Asian MMA Awards Results - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[3] "Australian Fighting Championship heads to Melbourne for Saturday's AFC 7 - FSA - FightSport Asia". FSA - FightSport Asia. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[4] "The latest on Australian Fighting Championship 18 and the promotion's china expansion". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

[5] "The cage-fighting boom - all that's missing is the cage". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

[6] "Victorian state election opens door to UFC mega-event in Melbourne". FSA - FightSport Asia.

[7] Sherdog.com. "Australian Fighting Championship Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog. Retrieved 4 September 2017.

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