Former Warriors Realm and Underground Amateur MMA series promoter Shane Balmer has passed away, aged 53.
Balmer was the man behind the once popular Warriors Realm promotion which took the honour of being the first Australian promotion to have bouts regularly contested in a caged enclosure.
Under Balmer’s management, the promotion hosted events from 2004 to 2013 and featured some of the biggest fights the local scene had to offer at the time.
The likes of Roberto Traven, Elvis Sinosic, Ian Schaffa, Kyle Noke, George Sotiropoulos, Adrian Pang and Hector Lombard all progressed through the promotion.
Warriors Realm took a back seat from 2009 to 2011 as Balmer took on the challenge of promoting the next generation of fighters when he put on the Underground MMA amateur series around regional towns.
Corey Nelson, Ben Alloway, Shannon Ross, Reece McLaren & Chris Lokteff are just some of the names that come through those events.
Australian MMA scene has grown rapidly thanks to the success of the current crop of fighters, however, it’s trailblazers from the early days that paved the way and Shane Balmer was instrumental along the way.
Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Shane Balmer.
RIP Shane
