Grow Strong Fight Series Brings Grassroots MMA To The Sunshine Coast

Written by: Toby Maher

Grow Strong Fight Series is not trying to be Eternal, HEX or Beatdown. For owner Ben Pepper, that's exactly the point.

Built out of Warwick, Queensland, Grow Strong has become one of the more genuine grassroots operations in Australian MMA. Grow Strong put simply is three things under one banner.

"I own Grow Strong MMA, which is the gym, and Grow Strong Invitational, which is our grappling comp," Pepper said. "And then Grow Strong Fight Series is the MMA promotion. We've got our 15th event coming up on the Sunshine Coast."

All three carry the same fingerprints. Honest, regional and completely uninterested in pretending to be something it isn't.

Grow Strong Fight Series Expands Beyond Warwick

That July 18 show will be Grow Strong's first on the Sunshine Coast, and for Pepper it's about more than finding a new venue. It's about taking the show to the gyms and coaches who've supported him for years.

"We've run nearly all of our previous events in Warwick, which is like the most remote show in the country," he said.

Warwick isn't exactly surrounded by MMA gyms. Pepper says he's 100 kilometres from the closest one outside his own, which has made building a regular show both difficult and unique. Fighters and coaches have had to travel to him. Now he wants to return the favour.

"We are trying to move the show to where the coaches and teams are supporting us," he said.

A Grassroots Australian MMA Promotion

That's the heart of Grow Strong. It isn't chasing the same lane as Australia's bigger promotions.

"I've got no interest in competing with your Beatdowns, HEX, Eternal," Pepper said. "We're more about finding markets that could do with a promotion that don't have anything operating at the moment."

That makes it an important piece of the wider ecosystem. The sport needs its big platforms, but it also needs shows where amateurs get their first walkout, first fight week, first real test under lights.

Grow Strong has already produced a few names worth knowing. Chris Power, now one of the country's top amateur featherweights, came through the show, as did Jackson Weir-White, who made his debut there. It's also previously had fighters like Jason Petropoulos headlining events.

Trust At The Centre Of Grow Strong Fight Series

Pepper's been in this world a long time.

"Around 20 years I've been in this game."

He's watched the sport change since, gyms come and go, promoters come and go, the whole thing turning a lot more professional than it was when he started. He's gained knowledge from the years and aims to put on the best shows that he can.

What's kept gyms coming back to him is trust.

"I've never bullshitted anyone about a matchup, ever," he said. "And it's just not going to happen."

Positive Energy Without The Trash Talk

That same honesty and respect runs through how the shows are built. What the night runs on, he says, is energy.

"We're trying to keep high positive energy," Pepper said. "Ours (the show) is just very us."

A loud room, a crowd that's into it, and high quality MMA.

Where he draws the line is trash talk, or fighters tearing into each other to sell a clip.

"I don't care if you want to big up yourselves and your gym, but you do not talk shit about your opponents on our show," he said. "For the most part, they're amateurs, and I've just got no interest in trash talk."

MMA that isn't built on tearing people down.

"You can cheer for your person, or for something happening, but you don't shit on anybody," he said. "That's kind of the attitude we're trying to have on our show."

These are amateur fighters, not polished pros with media training and management behind them. They're people, often young, stepping into a cage to do something a lot of people would never dare. Pepper's conscious of that.

"It's young people, they're trying something difficult, and we want to give as much positivity as we can," he said.

Grow Strong Still Has Plenty Of Personality

None of that means the show lacks personality. Far from it.

Pepper describes one of his MCs as "Bruce Buffer, if he'd taken some amphetamines before he started."

And he happily confirmed the story: after a win, he handed his own shoe to Grow Strong featherweight champion Chris Power for a shoey, then spent the rest of the night walking the venue with Bundy rum in his sock.

"If he's gonna engage like that, who am I to kill the vibe?" he laughed.

Grow Strong Fight Series 15 Comes To The Sunshine Coast

For the Sunshine Coast, Pepper's expecting a packed, noisy room of around 300 seats and a no-frills format. Doors open. Fights start. A short intermission, then the rest of the card.

"We just run fights," Pepper said. "If the fights start at six, we try to get out between nine and ten o'clock."

At the time of the interview he had around 10 matches confirmed and was working toward roughly 15, a mix of local Sunshine Coast fighters and athletes travelling in from Brisbane, Cairns and interstate.

The Long-Term Plan For Grow Strong

Longer term, Pepper wants Grow Strong to become a proper regional circuit. Move into towns that don't have an active show. Build something. Then hand it to a local operator who shares the same ethos.

"I'd like to, in maybe five or six years, have a big regional circuit," he said. "And then once a year, run one big show. That's probably something I'd love to do."

That's the long game. The next step is the Sunshine Coast.

Grow Strong Fight Series 15 lands at Buderim War Memorial Hall on July 18, doors at 5pm and fights from 6pm. Around 300 seats, packed tight, drinks flowing, one of Pepper's amped-up MCs running the mic.

For years, the coast's gyms made the long haul out to Warwick for nights like this. On July 18, Grow Strong brings one to them.

Expect a loud room, a proper card, and a reminder that grassroots MMA, up close, is one of the best seats in sport.

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