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 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. 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. 2017 saw the expansion of the promotion into Mainland China and a major rebranding to the Australasian Fighting Championship (AFC).
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). 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 With success in the election the ban is set to be repealed allowing AFC to promote MMA in a caged enclosure to ensure optimum safety of fighters.
Final champions
DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle defensesHeavyweight265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) Tai Tuivasa 15 October 2016 0Light Heavyweight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Rameau Sokoudjou 28 October 2017 0Middleweight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Glenn Sparv 7 April 2018 0Welterweight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Theo Christakos 7 April 2018 1Lightweight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) Blake Donnelly 1 December 2019 0Featherweight145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) Alexander Volkanovski 19 March 20160Bantamweight135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) Gustavo Falciroli 17 May 2014 0
Australian Fighting Championship Title history Australian Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Soa Paleleidef. Joe Kielur AFC 3Geelong, Australia 14 April 20121. def. Sean McCorkle at AFC 4 on 7 December 2012Palelei vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.2 Brandon Sosoli def. Andre Meunier AFC 13Melbourne, Australia 14 June 20153 Tai Tuivasa AFC 16Melbourne, Australia 18 June 20161. def. James McSweeney at AFC 16 on 15 October 2016Tuivasa vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.
Australian Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Jamie Abdallahdef. Daniel Almeida AFC 12Melbourne, Australia 22 March 20151. def. Randall Rayment at AFC 14 on 12 September 20152 Rameau Sokoudjou AFC 21Melbourne, Australia 28 October 2017
Australian Fighting Championship Middleweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Steven Kennedydef. Manuel Rodriguez AFC 7Melbourne, Australia 14 December 2013Kennedy vacated the title.2 Zein Salibadef. Daniel Way AFC 12Melbourne, Australia 22 March 2015Saliba vacated the title.3 Rob Wilkinsondef. Jamie Abdallah AFC 15Melbourne, Australia 19 March 2016Wilkinson vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.4 Israel Adesanyadef. Melvin Guillard AFC 20Melbourne, Australia 28 July 2017Adesanya vacated the title when he left AFC for the UFC.5 Glenn Sparvdef. Stu Dare AFC 22Melbourne, Australia 7 April 2018
Australian Fighting Championship Welterweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Corey Nelsondef. Callan Potter AFC 9Melbourne, Australia 17 May 20142 Manuel Rodriguez AFC 14Melbourne, Australia 12 September 2015Rodriquez 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'Mearadef. Anton Zafir 22 Dec 2016 AFC 22Gold Coast, Australia 2 February 2016 – 7 May 20191. 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:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Dan Hookerdef. Rusty McBride AFC 3Geelong, Australia 14 April 20121. def. Rusty McBride at AFC 5 on 10 May 2013 2. def. Nick Patterson at AFC 6 on 24 August 2013Hooker vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.2 Bernardo Magalhaesdef. Kieran Joblin AFC 10 Albury-Wodonga, Australia 16 August 2014Magalhaes vacated the title.3 Issac Hardmandef. James Bishop AFC 19Shaanxi, China 15 April 20171. def. Rob Hill at AFC 21 on 28 October 2017
Australian Fighting Championship Featherweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Alexander Volkanovskidef. James Bishop AFC 13Melbourne, Australia 14 June 20151. def. Jamie Mullarkey at AFC 15 on 15 August 2016Volkanovski vacated the title when he signed with the UFC.
Australian Fighting Championship Bantamweight Championship Weight limit:
No.NameEventDateDefenses1 Gustavo Falcirolidef. Kai Kara-France AFC 9Melbourne, Australia 17 May 2014
Scheduled events
# Event Title Date Arena Location
Past events
# Event Title Date Arena Location23 AFC 23Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia22 AFC 22Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia22AFC 21Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia21AFC 20Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia20AFC 19AFC ArenaXi'an, Shaanxi, China19AFC 18AFC ArenaXi'an, Shaanxi, China18AFC 17Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia17AFC 16Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia16AFC 15Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia15AFC 14Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia14AFC 13Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia13AFC 12Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia12AFC 11Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia11AFC 10Bunton ParkAlbury, Australia10AFC 9Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia9AFC 8Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia8AFC 7Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia7AFC 6Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia6AFC 5Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia5AFC 4Melbourne PavilionMelbourne, Australia4AFC 3Geelong Arena Geelong, Australia3AFC 2Melbourne Sports & Aquatic CentreMelbourne, Australia2AFC Fight NightState Netball & Hockey CentreMelbourne, Australia1AFC 1State Netball & Hockey CentreMelbourne, Australia
Notable alumni Israel Adesanya (UFC) Hector Lombard (UFC) Soa Palelei (UFC) Dylan Andrews (UFC) Richie Vaculik (UFC) Peter Graham (Bellator) Bec Rawlings (UFC) Dan Kelly (UFC) Jake Matthews (UFC) Dan Hooker (UFC) Damien Brown (UFC) Alexander Volkanovski (UFC) Tai Tuivasa (UFC) Luke Jumeau (UFC) Tyson Pedro (UFC)
References
External links
List of Events on Sherdog