New grappling competitive event to debut at AusFitness Expo

Appealing to MMA fans, a new grappling tournament - Kings Cup Submission Grappling – will be launched at this year’s AusFitness Expo with special appearances from female UFC Flyweight “King” Casey O’Neill and the current UFC world champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Conceived and brought to life by O’Neill, the event is set to revolutionise the competitive grappling space in Australia.

O’Neill will present Kings Cup Submission Grappling in association with CMBT. The inaugural event is no-gi submission grappling featuring a new and exciting ruleset that encourages action and penalises inactivity, with multiple weight classes in a round-robin format.

Submission Grappling is also known as submission fighting, combat grappling, or simply as No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu, and takes the same approach as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but without the advantage (or disadvantage) of a uniform to grab on to. The difference between BJJ and submission grappling is in the grips.

Grappling is a general term used for all wrestling disciplines, such as no gi and luta livre, where the aim is to make your opponent tap out using submission techniques (joint lock, chokehold, etc.). The term 'grappling' refers to the act of gripping your opponent, and is therefore distinct from striking disciplines.

According to O’Neill this will be the ultimate, high-energy battle between skilled athletes, showcasing the very best that MMA and grappling has to offer with O’Neill sharing “the sport of grappling is at a real turning point globally - it’s growing rapidly and attracting attention from a wider audience.

“We wanted to help this movement by creating a competition that’s true to the sport while also being thrilling for spectators.

“By adjusting the length of matches and using our unique ruleset we have a points-driven event that will encourage winning via submission and see exciting scrambles in the final minute of each match. It will be a great event for both competitors and spectators.”

The event held at the AusFitness Expo will be the first in a series of monthly regional events that will culminate at a national final in August.

AusFitness Expo Director Shaun Krenz said he was thrilled the Expo would be hosting the event over two days and added “this is the start of something big for grappling in Australia and we’re honoured to be involved from the get-go. We are determined to create a celebration of all fitness communities coming together in one place at the one time. Having an event like this at AusFitness Expo elevates the level of consumer experience and promises to take the Expo to the next level.”

Another highlight for MMA/UFC fans at the 2023 AusFitness Expo will be special appearances by Alexander Volkanovski, Australian mixed martial artist and current UFC Featherweight Champion. You can meet him on both the Saturday and Sunday at the CMBT stand.

Kings Cup Grappling – The competition
Weight divisions range from 60kg to 120kg for men and 50 to 75kg for women. The competition will run with single rounds of five minutes each. In the first four minutes, no points can be scored, it’s submission only. In the final minute, points can be scored. Penalties can be accrued at any time. Penalties are issued for striking, illegal technique, stalling and bad sportsmanship. A full set of rules and the points system can be found here. https://kcgrappling.com/rules/

To register your interest in competing in the first ever Kings Cup event at the AusFitness Expo or to purchase tickets to attend, head to ausfitnessexpo.com.au/ for more information.

Coming to Sydney on 29th and 30th April, the AusFitness Expo will be held at the International Convention Centre, 14 Darling Drive, Sydney. 

Image: Female UFC Flyweight “King” Casey O’Neill