Rob Wilkinson reckons cauliflower ears are an occupational hazard. Fellow world champion Jacinta Austin has, fortunately, managed to avoid any such souvenirs during her mixed martial arts career.
Both are hopeful that their sport will be showcased on a whole new level after the launch on Tuesday of the Professional Fighters League Pacific series, which chief executive Peter Murray predicted would deliver “the most accessible MMA experience Australia has ever seen”.
While the Ultimate Fighting Championship remains the most high-profile and lucrative of the MMA codes, Murray said there were more than enough athletes and fans to warrant multiple series.
“It’s the fastest-growing sport in the world,” Murray said. “Over 600 million fans, 80 per cent outside the US … UFC cannot fulfil all that demand, and they can’t create the pathways for all the great athletes and fighters around the world.”
Televised by Stan, 9Now and the 9Network, Murray said PFL Pacific will stage four events in 2026, starting with Sydney and Melbourne, as well as New Zealand.
The best-performed local fighters will then advance to the even more lucrative Champions Series in Dubai.
Jacinta Austin addresses the crowd at Tuesday’s launch.Credit: Getty Images for PFL
For Hobart-born “Razor” Wilkinson, a world champion in the light-heavyweight division, PFL Pacific will provide an opportunity to inspire the next generation of Australian fighters.
“It’s like any professional sport,” he said. “It takes a lot of hard work and consistency and effort to get anywhere where you can kind of make a living. But I’ve always been passionate about it, so I enjoy what I do … there was no money for me for, you know, a good 10 years of my career and I kept doing it.
“So I’ve always loved competing. I love just, you know, me and one other man in the cage and the first guy comes out the winner.”
He said martial arts taught “respect and discipline”, and although “it’s definitely got its dangers”, so, too, did sports such as the rugby codes and AFL.
PFL CEO Peter Murray at Tuesday’s launch, with world champion Rob Wilkinson listening on.Credit: Getty Images
His worst injuries have been “a couple of broken hands”, as well as the obligatory cauliflower ears.
“They happen early, so you may as well continue once they happen,” he said of his battered ears.
Austin, a 30-year-old from Manly, appears comparatively unscathed after a 30-fight career – 10 at professional level – that culminated in her crowning as the PFL’s straw-weight world champion in Abu Dhabi last year.
After finishing school, she started kick-boxing for fitness training, and when her trainer initially suggested a competitive fight, she baulked. Eventually, he talked her around, and she was surprised how much she enjoyed the experience.
“I would definitely encourage little girls to be brave and to give it a go,” she said. “All females, I think, should know some form of self-defence.
“Not even just for protection, but for confidence. So just to be brave, have a go, and just believe in yourself.”
At this point in her career, Austin maintains a day job in sales and customer service, but she remains hopeful of eventually becoming a full-time professional athlete.
“You never know,” she said. “Ideally, I would like fighting to be a full-time thing for me, but you never know what the future holds.
“That’s the goal. PFL are obviously creating a pathway for that, so that would be ideal. But one step at a time, and the first thing’s going to be the first fight.”