Run Nation is positioning itself as Australia’s fastest-growing contact sport, and it hasn’t arrived quietly. In a matter of months, the one-on-one collision format has moved from underground concept to sold-out Sydney event, bringing fight-night energy and heavy online debate with it.
Inspired by rugby league and union but distilled to a single high-impact exchange, the hype has been immediate. So has the criticism, particularly around head trauma and long-term player welfare.
To cut through the noise, we sat down with UFC heavyweight and Run Nation ambassador Tai Tuivasa, alongside founder Tremaine Fernandez.
Tai describes the atmosphere as “a night full of knockouts,” while Fernandez says the conversation around head trauma is necessary and overdue across all contact sports. Run Nation has introduced live brain testing on event nights, alongside multiple rounds of post-event testing. Athletes are screened through combine-style physical assessments and a range of performance and safety metrics, while training is led by ex-professional footy players with strict contact targets designed to minimise head impact.
With events planned across Australia in 2026 and a US launch already in development, Run Nation is moving quickly. Whether it becomes the next global collision spectacle remains to be seen, but as Bam Bam puts it: “We’re taking over.” The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
What was the atmosphere like at your recent Sydney event? How did you find it?
Tai: I think we learnt a lot. I felt good, it was fun and the atmosphere was crazy. It was like a night full of knockouts at a fight night, if I can put it into words like that. But it was sick, everyone was going crazy, everyone was loving it. We had a great time.
Tai, for fans that know you from the UFC but don't know Run Nation yet, how would you explain why they should check out what you're doing? What do you love about it and what made you want to get involved?
Tai: Oh look, we grew up as Aussies. I think a lot of Aussies might understand it more as a lot of us grew up with rugby league or rugby union, which is pretty much where this sport comes from. But you just cut out all the fitness [laughs] it's just the sheer running. Boys running at each other and the best get the best. I love it. I'm in the hurt business. I see there's a lot of slack and stuff written about it, which I do understand at some points. But I'm in the hurt business and I love it. It's entertaining, and we do our best for the safety of the boys, including training and stuff like that. So we're doing our best and I think overall the fans love it. And for anyone that was there that night, it really just fuelled the energy. It was awesome.
You touched on the training there a little bit. I wanted to know, when you watch these guys preparing for Run Nation, what stands out to you? How is it different from the atmosphere of straight footy training or MMA training?
Tai: I think that's what we prepare for, is the collision. Prepare for the impact. I'll leave that more to the coaches and the trainers' side of stuff, because obviously I'm not running [laughs]
Tremaine: We've got a bunch of expert trainers that are ex-professional players that are coming in and they're really teaching these boys about how to get their head out of the way, make sure that their collision contact is safe and technical, having their feet planted and avoiding contact to the head. There are targets for us, which is from the collarbone to the waist, and these guys are being really, really thoroughly trained on that.
Looking back to the Sydney event, were there any competitors that really stuck out to you guys as perhaps some of the emerging stars of the sport?
Tremaine: Oh, so many. This was our first paid public event. But Tai and I were at the first one, you remember Val, he went against Miles, who was the OG of the sport in other competitions. And he put down Jayden Young like it was nothing, that's Hudson Young's older brother. That was a massive standout for me. What about you, Tai?
Tai: Tony Toleafoa. That was a big one, against Lakeham. That was just two bulls. Look, I think the competition is just going to get better. Obviously, there's a lot of backlash and whatever but I think for the boys, just to see the boys be put on a platform, you know—they had a cameraman each, even just the media day. These boys are really launching into their own personal careers and stuff like that. So I think it's a great platform. Obviously, this is what I do for a living, you know what I mean? But to give boys that spark again in something is fucking awesome, I think, and as a team, I think we did a very good job at that.
For athletes who are interested in getting involved or giving Run Nation a try, how do they get involved? Are they hand-selected or what kind of pathways in are there?
Tremaine: Yeah, so look, there are a couple of pathways. Obviously, if you're an ex-professional of the sport or a well-known athlete, that's obviously one way that we will select. But the main thing is we open up registration where we take online applications. They get filtered through. They have to upload actual video footage of them competing in similar sports or playing NRL so that we can actually assess that these guys are capable. We'll shortly start to then take them through a numerous range of testing. So whether that's to an actual combine where they'll then get tested, speed testing, strength testing, neck metrics, shoulder metrics, everything, every limb on their body, how prone that would be to a concussion. We'll take all that information and then we'll make the decision based on data. So the decision, all the testing that's done, we can actually manufacture a collision and understand, OK, this is the impact this guy can generate and this is how likely he is to come out unscathed. And they're the guys that we're trying to then select to go into the training with the coaches that then work further on the technique.
What's on the horizon for you guys with Run Nation for the rest of 2026. Are there plans to take it on the road or any more events in the pipeline?
Treamine: Yeah, so we're looking right now, we're looking to do our next show in Queensland. That'll be in Brissy. After Brissy, it'll probably be in the GC.
Tai: Brisvegas! [Laughs]
Tremaine: Then Melbourne, then off to WA. We are working with a global production company to do a production with a major network that's going to be called the Road to Vegas. Can't name who that is yet, but that'll be underway for our US launch as well.
Where do you see Run Nation going? Where do you envision it to be in five or ten years from now?
Tai: We’re taking over, that’s it. [Laughs]
Tremaine: Yeah, it is a global sporting empire. There is no doubt about it. It’s doing bigger numbers than slap. It's doing in bigger numbers than all these emerging sports that are coming out. Did you guys know that the Super Bowl was on yesterday? Because I didn't.
Tai: Yeah, I've got a lot of people from America hitting me up already. Because I've obviously got a few fans over there. So definitely people are hungry for it.
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