Darren Owen is known for his involvement in the world of MMA, particularly through his association with Armageddon fighting. In 2011, Heit and Armageddon co-owner Darren Owen appeared on the ``Dragons' Den'' TV show in search of investors. With two fight shows under their belt, they asked for $55,000 for 10 per cent of their company to help fund its growth.
Beyond his promotional activities, Darren Owen's contributions extend into various facets of combat sports.
Ricardo Brown: A Rising Star in the Super-Heavyweight Division
Ricardo Brown is a notable figure in the super-heavyweight division. At six foot 7 1/2 and 275 pounds, Brown will stand out in a crowd. "I think Ricardo Brown is a name that we can expect to see making some big waves in the super-heavyweight division and get up there for some big-money fights," he added.
His potential impact on the sport is significant, with expectations of making substantial progress in the division.
John Wayne Parr: A Legend in Muay Thai and Kickboxing
TOP 10 JOHN WAYNE PARR KNOCKOUTS
John Wayne Parr (born 25 May 1976), also known as JWP, is a retired Australian Muay Thai fighter, kickboxer and boxer, fighting out of Boonchu Gym in Gold Coast, Queensland. Wayne Parr began training in taekwondo at the age of 11. Wayne competed in the Queensland titles at QE2 Stadium, where he won a silver medal after winning 2 fights and losing the final in 1988.
Read also: A Look at Darren Young's Career
In 1990 Parr started kickboxing, training for a few months before having to move to Sydney. In 1991 Parr moved to Richmond, New South Wales. Wayne found a new kickboxing gym and had his first fight aged 14, losing on a split decision. In 1992 the Parr family moved again to Mornington in Victoria. In 1993 at the age of sixteen, his family moved back to Queensland, and Parr began training with Blair Moore.
Parr started participating in professional bouts at the age of 16. Moore trained Parr for 13 fights, with Parr winning an Australian title (63 kg) at the age of 17. Blair helped promote Wayne at Jupiters Casino for 3 fights before he fought for the South Pacific title against Scott Lovelock, winning by 5th-round KO when Parr was 19.
During his first career in Australia, he won some regional titles including one from the WKA. At the age of 19, Parr met Richard Vell who was owner of an esteemed Muay Thai restaurant in Australia - Boonchu Thai food. Richard and Wayne developed a father and son relationship, and after a few years together Richard sponsored Wayne to train in Thailand.
In 1996 Parr moved to Thailand, living in Pattaya and training for 3 months out of Sidyodtong gym, eventually moving to Nonthaburi, Bangkok to train with legendary Thai fighter Sangtien Noi (Deadly Kisser). In 1996 Parr moved to Thailand and lived in a Muay Thai camp for four years, training in Pattaya and Bangkok, competing in 30 fights and winning two world titles. He trained extensively with legendary Thai fighter "Deadly Kisser" Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungroj in this time. During his career in Thailand, he imitated a gunfighter by drawing a gun from his holster at the end of the wai khru before the bout, and this caught the Thai public's fancy.
He gained popularity in Thailand, was voted Best Farang Fighter of the year in 1997, fought at Lumpinee Stadium three times, and at his first Thai king's birthday. Parr debuted in boxing on 29 January 1998 against Tim Shannon in a four-round bout, winning by TKO in the second round. On 25 April 1998, he fought against Takayuki Kohiruimaki who would eventually win the K-1 tournament, and won by the unanimous decision.
On 24 April 1999, he fought against Kenichi Ogata, the Japanese national shoot boxing champion, winning by KO with left hook in the second round. On 23 May 1999, he participated in the first "X-plosion series" event, which was a famous Australian kickboxing promotion, fighting against Daniel Dawson. On 13 October 2000, he participated in K-1 Queensland 2000, the first K-1 event for him, and fought against Scott Bannan for his ISKA Muay Thai world championship at middleweight. The fight was unusual in that their rivalry had developed on an Australian kickboxing bulletin board.
On 5 December, he fought against Orono Por.Muang Ubon for the vacant title of International Muay Thai Federation (IMF) middleweight title in the Thai King's birthday event. In 2001, Parr shifted his focus to boxing again. After seven consecutive boxing victories since 1998, he fought against Andriy Khamula for the vacant Australian boxing title at Middleweight on 8 July 2001. He won the championship by TKO in round 10 and got his first boxing title.
Next month, on 17 August, he challenged Nader Hamdan for his IBF Pan Pacific Junior middleweight title, but lost by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. On 21 September, he challenged for the vacant Oceanic Boxing Association (OBA) title at Super welterweight against Rasheed Baloch, and won the title by TKO in round 5. On 24 October, he fought against Ian McLeod to defend his Australian national title, but lost by unanimous decision.
On 29 November 2019 Parr defeated former world champion Anthony Mundine by split decision with scores of 96-93, 95-93 and 94-95. On 26 November 2002, Parr participated K-1 Oceania MAX 2002 tournament. In 2004 John Wayne had his first fight for the K-1 organisation in Japan against Duane Ludwig, winning on points. John Wayne made the final 8 with his first fight against Buakaw - after 3 close rounds the judges scored it a draw, forcing an extension round. In 2005 JWP was invited back for K1 eliminations, beating Shane Chopper Chapman by KO. Making the final 8, JWP then fought Albert Kraus, losing on points.
In 2004 JWP won the S1 Tournament World Champion Title with 3 wins in one night. Much of Parr's fame rose from the Contender Asia reality show and on 12 April 2008 Parr fought Yodsaenklai in Singapore for The Contender Asia title and US$150,000. The fight was an emotional battle for Parr; just weeks before the contest, his father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. His wife was also pregnant.
Parr recovered from two knockdowns during the fight, but lost by unanimous decision. On 24 June 2012 John Wayne Parr fought his retirement fight against K-1 veteran Jordan Tai, fighting full Thai rules in an MMA-style cage with fingerless gloves. At 2:11 of the 4th round he knocked out Jordan Tai with a vicious uppercut. He retired on a four fight winning streak (three of which were by KO) and he retired as the WKBF K-1 World Middleweight Champion.
It was Parr's first time fighting inside a cage using 5oz MMA gloves and he has said he enjoyed it more than traditional Muay Thai and would come out of retirement if Buakaw Por. Parr intended to tryout for the Australia vs. Parr was expected to fight Jake Purdy of England in the main event of Caged Muay Thai 10 on 4 August 2017 in Brisbane, Australia, however Purdy pulled out of the fight on two days' notice with a broken toe.
After the stint in Bellator, Parr signed with Rizin Fighting Federation and made his promotional debut against Danilo Zanolini at Rizin 18 on 18 August 2019. A feature-length documentary chronicling the life of Australian Muay Thai star and 10 time World Champion John Wayne Parr called Blessed With Venom was filmed. The film provides an intimate insight into Parr's early years in Thailand where he endured rigorous training in primitive conditions, to the heights of his accomplishments around the world.
The documentary also examines seminal fights in Parr's career. From his bloody contests with Thai marvel Orono, which is considered the making of the Gunslinger's legend, to his contemporary battles with Mike Zambidis, Lamsongkram, and the three all out wars with Yodsanklai Fairtex. We bear witness as Parr comes back from 2 losses to ultimately defeat Yodsanklai in Melbourne.
John Wayne Parr has also acted in short movies such as "The Violent", written by James Richards and Keith Macdonald. His wife, Angela Rivera-Parr, and daughter, Jasmine Parr, are also fighters.
John Wayne Parr's Notable Achievements
- 1999 WMTC (Now WMC) Australian Jr.
- Wins W.M.T.C.
| Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1999 | WMTC Australian Jr. |
| Various | Wins W.M.T.C. |
Other Notable Fighters
That list includes Trevor Berbick and Donovan (Razor) Ruddock.
Some other Canadian fighters include John (The Bull) Makdessi, Jordan (Young Gun) Mein and Julia (The Jewel) Budd.
Additional Notes
"After such a long break with the pandemic, we wanted to make sure we could get our fans back, we wanted to build up our promotion team, get all the training where it needed to be," said Heit, who also trains fighters at Victoria's Island MMA Training Centre. "For us, the pandemic was just brutal on the promotion side. It's taken us this long to be in a position to take it to the next level.
As a fighter, he competed in boxing, kickboxing and MMA. At 17, he won the 1990 Island Tough Man Contest by knocking out three men in one night. He turned to amateur boxing and represented Canada at the 1995 Pan American Games. Heit had his first pro MMA fight in 1997, before moving to L.A. to pursue pro boxing. He continued training in MMA, moving back to Victoria in 2007 to open his own gym.
"This kid can box for hours," Heit said of Colantonio.