Steve Irwin was a passionate mixed martial arts fan and a serious grappler, who built a custom training cage at Australia Zoo to spar with his bodyguard, future UFC fighter Kyle Noke. Irwin hired Noke in 2003, originally as security, but quickly repurposed him into a personal sparring partner and trainer. Together they worked through boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, holding regular sessions at the zoo gym.
At 6-foot-2 and over 220 pounds, with decades of wrestling crocodiles behind him, Irwin had a dominant top-game that Noke has described in interviews as nearly impossible to escape. The two trained every Wednesday, and Irwin reportedly slept poorly the nights before, sometimes shadowboxing in the gym at 2 a.m. before sessions started. Noke went on to compete in the UFC after Irwin's death in 2006, eventually building a 12-fight UFC career.
Irwin wanted to test his skills in a sanctioned MMA bout. His producers and publicists refused, fearing damage to his family-friendly global brand. A proposed charity fight never moved forward.
Sources: Kyle Noke (Las Vegas Sun, GrangeTV podcast), The MAC Life, theScore.
Steve Irwin was a passionate mixed martial arts fan and a serious grappler, who built a custom training cage at Australia Zoo to spar with his bodyguard, future UFC fighter Kyle Noke. Irwin hired Noke in 2003, originally as security, but quickly repurposed him into a personal sparring partner and trainer. Together they worked through boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, holding regular sessions at the zoo gym.
At 6-foot-2 and over 220 pounds, with decades of wrestling crocodiles behind him, Irwin had a dominant top-game that Noke has described in interviews as nearly impossible to escape. The two trained every Wednesday, and Irwin reportedly slept poorly the nights before, sometimes shadowboxing in the gym at 2 a.m. before sessions started. Noke went on to compete in the UFC after Irwin's death in 2006, eventually building a 12-fight UFC career.
Irwin wanted to test his skills in a sanctioned MMA bout. His producers and publicists refused, fearing damage to his family-friendly global brand. A proposed charity fight never moved forward.
Sources: Kyle Noke (Las Vegas Sun, GrangeTV podcast), The MAC Life, theScore.
