Former boxing world champion Anthony Mundine is launching a bare-knuckle event in Queensland, declaring the sport is less brutal than it seems.
Mundine’s World Bare Knuckle Fighting is set to be launched in September at a venue in Brisbane, with the event streamed online.
The debut of Mundine’s promotion comes after the US-based Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship was blocked from hosting an event in June by the Western Australian government.
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The WA sports minister gave the green light for a proposed fight night at Perth’s RAC Arena in July before the state’s combat sports authority stepped in and denied the application.
Rahim Mundine walks to the ring with father Anthony Mundine ahead of his middleweight bout against Joe Vatusaqata at Qudos Bank Arena on July 16, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Getty
Mundine’s company has applied to hold an event in Sydney, where NSW Premier Chris Minns has worked with the UFC to stage events in the Harbour City.
However, the submission is still under consideration, leading Mundine and his business partners to take their venture to Queensland, where there’s no regulatory combat authority.
“[It’s] the purest form of fighting,” said Mundine, 50.
“It’s about putting on a spectacle. We’re in the entertainment industry. I’m 100 per cent certain that this event will entertain.”
Bare Knuckle fighting has gained popularity in the UK and the US. Bare Knuckle FC
Decision-makers in Western Australia stood by advice from the Australian Medical Association’s WA state president, Michael Page, who called bare knuckle fighting the “human equivalent of dog fighting.”
However, Mundine disputes the claims that bare knuckle fighting leads to more head injuries.
At the event in Brisbane, he said he will have a full medical team in place and has been given the go-ahead by veteran ringside doctor Lou Lewis, who claims there is less risk of brain trauma than fighting with gloves due to shorter blows and fewer repeated blows to the head.
“Obviously, it’s going to be bloodier because it’s bare knuckle and the skin can split quite easily,” Mundine said.
The UFC staged an event in Sydney earlier this year. Zuffa LLC
“It’s going to look more scary, but it actually isn’t. We’re doing it at a professional level where the fighters train for this type of fight.”
Mundine says his World Bare Knuckle Fighting events will have wider weight divisions so fighters don’t have to drain themselves to make weight and can absorb a punch to the head.
There are plans to have 10 bouts on the inaugural bare knuckle Australian card, with the likes of Ben Horn, the brother of former Aussie boxer Jeff Horn and NRL player turned boxer Curtis Scott tipped to take part.
