The organisers of Runit Championship’s RNC04 card have been forced to hit pause, with the combat event at Royal Randwick Racecourse postponed after a ruling in the NSW Supreme Court.
In a statement, RNC confirmed the decision and accepted the legal setback, stressing it would now fall into line with the state’s regulatory framework.
“RNC will now operate as a regulated sport in NSW under the authority. We are working with them to bring RNC into that framework properly,” the statement read.
The promotion insisted this was a rearrangement, not a collapse. RNC04, originally set for later this year, will now be pushed back to a new date in 2026 at the same venue, with the same fight card promised.
“RNC04 will be rescheduled for later in 2026 at Royal Randwick Racecourse. Same venue. Same card. Same event.
“Your ticket carries over automatically. If you cannot attend the new date, refund instructions are going to every ticket holder by email today.
“To our athletes, coaches and teams. You gave everything to get here. None of it is lost. This is a delay, not a defeat.”
The sport sits at the sharp end of the combat spectrum. By definition, it is built on collision: combatants step in with one clear aim — “to strike, kick, hit, grapple with, throw or punch one or more other combatants”. That blunt reality has driven both its appeal and the wave of criticism surrounding it.
RNC has leaned heavily on rugby league crossover stars to build its profile. Former NRL forwards Dylan Napa and Sam Kasiano were among those scheduled to feature on the postponed card, adding size, name recognition and a sense of spectacle.
Not everyone from rugby league has stayed on board.
Earlier this year, former NRL front-rower Josh Aloiai walked away from the sport after working as a coach for RNC competitors. His experience in the corner left him deeply uneasy, and he chose to say so publicly.
In a video posted to social media, Aloiai drew a hard line.
“After coaching at RNC last night, that’s not something I could ever be involved in again.
“As a coach, man, I could not do that again, feels like you’re just preparing dudes to go and get their heads knocked off and get brain bleeds and tap them on the back and squirt water in their face.”
The comments cut straight to the heart of the debate: where does the thrill of controlled violence end and unacceptable risk begin?
RNC boss Fernandez, speaking to the Herald earlier this year, did not fire back. Instead, he acknowledged Aloiai’s right to walk away, stressing that the company respects every athlete’s personal call on whether to compete or coach in such a punishing environment.
The sport’s moral and safety questions are not theoretical. They already have a human cost.
Vulangi Olosoni, who won the Runit Championship League final in June 2025 — a rival competition to RNC — has previously apologised for the part he played in encouraging young people to step into the same controversial arena. His regret followed the death of New Zealand teenager Ryan Satterthwaite, a tragedy that continues to hang over the entire scene.
For now, RNC’s message is defiant: the show will go on, just later and under stricter oversight. The tickets remain valid, the fighters remain in the wings, and the organisers insist the essence of their “collision” sport will survive regulation.
Whether public appetite, political tolerance and athlete support will hold firm by the time RNC04 finally lands in 2026 is the question that now looms over Royal Randwick.
