Why Deputy PM Richard Marles has a personal interest in cage fighting

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is no stranger to political combat, but soon he’ll front and centre of a major cage fight.

A ripped Sam Marles will face off in a cage in the welterweight bout of the Hex Fight Series 25 and his dad, Deputy PM Richard Marles, will be there to cheer him on. Picture: Supplied

Politics can be brutal but it has nothing on the sport that Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will find himself front and centre at next month when his son, Sam, makes his professional debut as a Mixed Martial Arts fighter.

Sam will take on Michael Tepou at the Hex Fight Series 25 at the Melbourne Pavilion on May 26.

The pair will face off in a cage in the welterweight bout and the Deputy PM, who is also the Federal member for Corio, has told organisers he will be attending the fight night.

The high flying pollie has not been shy about supporting his son, who is also a talented golfer, liking and commenting on the fight posts on social media.

Eight bouts are on the card with the headliner being a showdown between Kevin Jousset and Kitt ‘The Killer’ Campbell for the welterweight title.

Sam Marles is making his professional MMA debut in Melbourne on May 26. Picture: Supplied

Sam, 27, has politics on both sides of his family. His mother is Richard’s first wife, former Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville.

Richard has three younger children with his second wife, Rachel.

Jacob Watts, general manager of Hex, Australia’s biggest MMA promotion, said his organisation has been watching Sam’s performance in the amateur ranks with interest and the time was right for him to make his professional debut.

“Hex was established in 2014, it has been around nine years, (and) it was the first promotion to hold an event in a cage in Melbourne and in Perth,” Watts said.

“We have also had 25 fighters that have come from Hex and transitioned to the UFC (the US based Ultimate Fighting Championship) which is the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

“We provide fighters in Australia the best platform we can to make it to these bigger organisations world wide like the UFC.

As a child Sam Marles was a golf prodigy. Picture: Alan Barber

A younger Sam Marles with his mum, Lisa Neville. Picture: Stephen Harman

“Sam is someone we have had our eye on for a while. Sam fights out of a very successful and highly respected gym in Melbourne and he is making his professional debut.

“His father will be at the show. He is a very big supporter of Sam.”