Gangs drawn to unregulated mixed martial arts scene
by: Exclusive: Dan Box
From: The Australian
December 18, 2012 12:00AM
INTERNATIONAL bikie gangs are infiltrating the multi-billion-dollar mixed martial arts business, which at the weekend held its annual blood-spattered, money-spinning Australian headline event on the Gold Coast.
Mixed martial arts, which includes the US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship and the local Cage Fighting Championship, is among the fastest growing sports in the world, but remains relatively unregulated in Australia.
Australia's first UFC bout, in Sydney's Acer Arena in 2010, broke all records for ticket and merchandise sales.
Police in Canada have warned their Australian counterparts that bikie gangs are seeking a slice of the lucrative trade.
The NSW government is reviewing its legislation governing the sport, with the explicit intention of driving out the influence of organised crime.
"It's certainly become more and more obvious that there are members of outlaw motorcycle gangs involved in the combat sports field, both in terms of combatants and promoters and trainers," NSW police acting organised crime director Arthur Katsogiannis said.
"You've got these international links, which has led to international networks between gangs, for transporting their drugs, other commodities and firearms."
Police sources said bikies had been involved, both as fighters and promoters, in bouts held at Sydney's Penrith Panthers club, as well as using the sport to boost their influence within the illicit steroid trade.
Australian Crime Commission figures show authorities made more than 5500 seizures of steroids and growth hormones in 2010-11, more than double the year before and the highest in a decade.
One bikie source said gang members were turning to the combat sports industry partly because of the money on offer, but also because the police crackdown on the clubs' traditional activities was proving effective.
"It's working. The late-night knocks on the door, being pulled up constantly for parole checks, it's driving them out," said the man, who asked not to be named. "They see that they can make money here without the constant attention."
Bikies have long been linked to traditional combat sports such as boxing; in 2006, a kickboxing event on the Gold Coast descended into a brawl between members of the rival Hells Angels and Finks gangs.
Mixed martial arts is the most recent, booming sector of the industry, with the UFC alone valued at more than $3 billion and commanding a worldwide television audience in the hundreds of millions.
Saturday's UFC event, held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre and featuring Australian-born fighter George Sotiropoulos among its headline acts, was broadcast live in the US.