GAMMA Australia has successfully hosted its maiden BEAST Championship event in Sydney, New South Wales on 5-6 June in front of a strong crowd at the Auburn Basketball Centre.
BEAST Championship has previously held its events in Gladstone, where the organisation is headquartered, and Brisbane. Holding its first event in Sydney shows the efforts being made by BEAST Championship to grow the sport in the country.
The competition on 5 June was for both professional and amateur athletes. Professionals competed according to GAMMA Pro ‘Adult A’ Rules (4oz gloves, no shin guards) while amateurs competed according to GAMMA ‘Adult C’ Rules (6oz gloves with shin guards). The competition on 6 June was focused on the development of Novice level MMA athletes. This event was purely for athletes with no fight experience in MMA and the objective is to develop aspiring athletes and provide them with opportunities to compete.
GAMMA Australia President Zaya Zaya, Jason (BEAST CEO), Donco Jakovski (Promoter), Alan Philpott (Novice MMA Coordinator), and Francis McArdle did an excellent job putting together a balanced and entertaining fight card. They ensured that all athletes were matched against opponents of equal skill and experience. This was done to provide a safe and welcoming environment into MMA on their debut. Sunday 6th June was a family-friendly daytime event with lots of kids and families cheering the athletes on!
It was also the first event in Australia to host both cage and ring matches on the same night, which created a lot of excitement among athletes and fans alike. Bringing both sports together helped to underline the camaraderie between martial arts, and allowed the athletes from both disciplines to witness the different styles and techniques firsthand.
The first half of the competition featured six K1 Kickboxing bouts, while six MMA bouts rounded out the second half.
K-1 Kickboxing is a stand-up martial art that initially combined karate, kickboxing (Dutch, Savate, Muay Thai, and Western), and kung fu (hence, the “K”). The “1” resembles the competitive element of the style, which sought to find the best of the best through competition.
The competition on 5 June was a huge success, with Lachlan Stitt being crowned the new Amateur Welterweight Champion and given the opportunity to join GAMMA Australia. Be sure to keep an eye out for this up-and-coming athlete below!
The competition on 6 June was action-packed, with six exciting MMA bouts keeping the crowd highly entertained and nine K1 Kickboxing bouts being run for the remainder of the day.
In total, 27 bouts took place over the weekend. GAMMA President Alexander Engelhardt was full of praise for the efforts of the organisers. “We are delighted that it was a packed weekend schedule for mixed martial arts in Australia and heartened to see that there would be competitions every month through 2021,” he said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jason Hoad with BEAST, for demonstrating excellent leadership, dedication and commitment as they look to build awareness of the sport across Australia and get more people excited to try mixed martial arts. Imagine a three-day drive up to Sydney and three-day drive back to Gladstone with a fully loaded truck packed with all of BEAST Championship and GAMMA Australia set-up equipment and merchandise! I am extremely grateful for such an amazing team and excited to see the growth of mixed martial arts in Australia.”
Upcoming competitions
BEAST Championship #8 04 September 2021 | Brisbane Professional and Amateur Fight Night
Logan Metro Sports Enter Centre
Sanctioned by GAMMA Australia
BEAST Championship #9 30 October 2021 | Gladstone Professional and Amateur Fight Night
BEAST Championship Arena
Sanctioned by GAMMA Australia
To find out more about competition opportunities or if you are interested in trying mixed martial arts in Australia, check out the Facebook pages of GAMMA Australia (https://www.facebook.com/GAMMA-Australia-2473921149504563) and Beast Championship (https://www.facebook.com/BEASTFightingFederation).
