Forget the year of the dragon, 2024 was supposed to be the year of Australian combat sports. It was supposed to be a year when established stars became champions, champions became icons, and revenge arcs were completed.
And if you only scratched the surface of boxing and MMA coverage this year, you’d be left lamenting a year of heart-crushing setbacks and missed opportunities. For many, the past 12 months have felt like a backwards step for Australians in combat sports, as we’ve primarily fixated on the many who have suffered defeats and slid down global rankings.
Of course, Tim Tszyu provided two of the year’s biggest disappointments. The son of Hall of Famer Kostya could be excused for relinquishing his WBO light middleweight title to Sebastian Fundora in March when a nasty cut opened above his right eye and the flowing blood impacted his vision, but October’s lethargic and timid effort against little known Bakhram Murtazaliev waved goodbye to any opportunity of fighting some of the boxing’s biggest names, as had been put on the agenda for 2025.
It leaves Tszyu, a man who not so long ago appeared on course to be tracking towards legendary Australian boxing status, in limbo, unsure of his next step. Rumour has swirled that Tszyu could be in line for an Australian return to fight the polarising Michael Zerafa, someone who was also humbled on his trip to the United States earlier in the year. Zerafa suffered a second-round defeat to Erislandy Lara when the pair fought for the WBA middleweight title in March.
Rewind a month further and you’ll remember the George Kambosos-Vasiliy Lomachenko bloodbath. That fight, staged at RAC Arena in Perth, was billed as one of the biggest bouts to ever take place on Australian soil, yet it turned out to be as one-sided an affair as could be, with the future Hall of Famer Lomachenko dominating the local for 11 rounds.
Results haven’t fared much better on the UFC front, either. The nation’s most recognisable name in mixed martial arts, Alexander Volkanovski, suffered a second straight heavy defeat, this time losing his featherweight strap, while heavyweight fan favourite, Tai Tuivasa, appears to have his career on life support after having lost five fights on the bounce.
Robert Whittaker’s crushing submission defeat by Khamzat Chimaev then rounded out a largely tough year for Australia’s UFC contingent.
If your analysis of Australia’s combat scene ended here, then of course you’d be left with the conclusion 2024 has been a categoric failure. But what seems to consistently get glossed over are the many fighters who are shining and being overshadowed by the aforementioned, much publicized defeats. In reality, there’s no shortage of Australian fighters excelling and forging paths to glory; they just continue to be criminally overlooked and uncelebrated.
The man leading that charge is Jai Opetaia. The 29-year-old bruiser from Sydney is the No. 1 ranked cruiserweight on the planet, having built a perfect 26-0 record since turning professional in 2015, but few would likely know it. Opetaia took hold of the ring and IBF world titles with his victory over Mairis Briedis in July 2022 and has successfully defended those straps four times, including twice this year.
Opetaia’s next assignment will come on home soil when he battles German veteran Huseyin Cinkara on the Gold Coast in early January.
In the UFC, Jack Della Maddalena continues to show why he is set to be the nation’s next MMA star. The 28-year-old from Perth took his win streak to 17 fights with a bruising defeat of Gilbert Burns at UFC 299, one that netted him performance of the night honours. There’s every possibility Della Maddalena will fight for a welterweight title in 2025, putting him in line to assume the mantle from the likes of Volkanovski and Whittaker as the country’s best mixed martial artist.
But it’s not just Opetaia and Della Maddalena thriving on the global stage. Australia now has nine boxers ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisions, more than it did when these same rankings were released 12 months ago.
Earlier this month, Liam Paro came up agonisingly short in his maiden IBF light-welterweight world title defence. The 28-year-old from Mackay fell via split decision — the first loss of what’s been an underrated career thus far — to Richardson Hitchens in Puerto Rico, though all signs are pointing towards a rematch. Prior to that loss, Paro had impressed with a dominant display against Subriel Matias to take hold of that strap.
Another Australian will be fighting for a world title before the year is complete. On Christmas Eve, the undefeated Sam Goodman will square off with Japanese stud Naoya Inoue in Tokyo for undisputed bantamweight status. It’s a tall order for the 26-year-old, but he will enter off the back of two impressive performances in 2024 against Mark Schleibs and Chainoi Worawut.
Meanwhile, the UFC circus is gearing up for another jaunt Down Under. Sydney will host UFC 312 in February, headlined by the middleweight rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.
Despite the lack of an Australian headliner, as had been hoped, there will be no shortage of locals on the card. Jack Jenkins, who returned from a broken elbow in style against Herbert Burns, appears in line to secure a fight, while Jimmy Crute will make his comeback from a 20-month hiatus.
Casey O’Neill hasn’t been announced as part of the Sydney card but is someone who has turned her career around in 2024, bouncing back from a pair of losses the previous year with her unanimous decision over Luana Santos in August’s Perth event.
And then there’s the swathe of up-and-comers who have surfaced and showcased their potential. Quillan Salkilld and Jono Micallef were two of the standouts in Dana White’s contender series, the former already confirmed at UFC 312, while Kaan Ofli has been cutting his teeth in The Ultimate Fighter, the trio, among many others, helping to breathe new life back into Australian mixed martial arts.
Buckle up for an enthralling 2025 in Australian combat sports.
