By Staff Writer

It is big news in Australasia that the UFC has announced it will be holding an Australia versus United Kingdom edition of "The Ultimate Fighter" television series. 

The good news for New Zealand ends right there.



Because, unfortunately, it was also announced ONLY Australian "citizens" will be eligible to audition for the show.  Ouch! 

It would appear that the UFC may not have an understanding of the geography of the region or the fact that New Zealand fighters are a major part of the Australian MMA landscape.

The UK is four countries (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales).

Australia and New Zealand are similarly linked by geography and co-mingling of populatoions. 

So, the TUF competition is four countries against Australia with New Zealand not allowed to participate. What am I missing? What is the NZ snub?

In fact, there are a lot of great New Zealand fighters in Oz who qualify for the 61kg-77kg who are not Australian citizens.

Currently, three New Zealand MMA fighers are title holders in Australia. They include: Daniel Hooker, Rod MacSwain, and  Dave Nicholls. That adds up to three of the most exciting fighters across the ditch who are not eligible.

The point of contention is TUF's requirement that applicants be a “Citizen” of Oz. 

Fact is, there are some top fighters in Australia that have made it their home for years now (kiwis, Brazilian, etc) that are "residents" but not "citizens".

Since our Kiwi fighters rep Oz hard and are at the top of the eligible weight classes it would be great to see them share this opportunity to enter the Octagon.

So, yes, the Australian market is far more lucrative based on sheer population.  But, excluding the Kiwi's participants will frustrate our awesome fans with a huge apetite for our regional MMA scene.

I wonder if the UFC has noticed the exodus of fans from New Zealand to Oz each time the UFC comes to our corner of the world?

It is hell just trying to get a ticket as all the flights are booked full!

Well, it is still early so maybe - just maybe - there will be an opportunity to ammend the applicant criteria to a more regionally sensible position. 

Afterall, our Kiwi fighters rep Oz hard and are at the top of the eligible weight classes.  It would be great to see them share this opportunity to fight.

Just saying ...

"NZMMA, The more you know, the better it gets!"

The photo above was taken after Brice's morning training session wearing the NZMMA "Tu - God of War" pro-boxing gloves.

Brice swears by them, "The Tu - God of War gloves are awesome, best gloves I've ever used!"

Remember, "NZMMA, The more you know, the better it gets!" TM