Michael Schiavello (born 10 April 1975) is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
sports commentator and journalist. He has commentated for
AXS TV
AXS TV () is an American cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musi ...
,
K-1
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii.
Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...
,
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
,
Maximum Fighting Championship
Maximum Fighting Championship was a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC events were broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV (formerly HDnet) in North America and most recently TSN2. FC’s former home, in C ...
,
King of the Cage
King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States.
History
KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...
,
ONE Championship
ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...
and ''
The Contender Asia
''The Contender Asia'' (known as ''The Contender: Kickboxer'' in the United Kingdom, and ''The Contender: Muay Thai'' in the United States) was a reality-based television series that follows 16 Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries a ...
''. He has also written for more than 50 publications worldwide, was the long-serving editor of ''Blitz Magazine'', was the editor of ''International Kickboxer'' magazine until 2009, was a feature writer for ''
Inside Sport
''Inside Sport'' was an Australian sport magazine published by nextmedia. It began publication in 1991 and produced its last issue in June 2020. Its website still exists, essentially as a portal to articles on other Nextmedia-owned sports br ...
'' magazine, and was the youngest ever inductee to the Best Australian Sports Writing Awards.
Commentating
Schiavello first got his start in commentating at age 16 at a track and field event in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. Shortly after, he began hosting his own radio sports show on Southern FM where he was called "Mr Scoop" for his ability to score interviews with world-famous sports stars between high school and homework. Some of the famous sports personalities Schiavello interviewed for his community radio show included soccer stars
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
and
Pele, tennis stars
Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles a ...
,
Stefan Edberg
Jan Stefan Edberg (; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), one of two players in the ...
and
Goran Ivanisevic
Goran may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*Gorane, or Goran, an ethnic group of northern Africa
*Goran (Kurdish tribe), an ethnic group of the Middle East
*Gorani (ethnic group), an ethnic group of southeastern Europe
Other uses
*Göran, a Swedish name
* ...
, cricket stars
Richie Richardson
Sir Richard Benjamin Richardson, KCN GCM (born 12 January 1962) is a former West Indies international cricketer and a former captain of the West Indian cricket team. He was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. He was named ...
,
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...
, and
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former cricketer who also served as the Indian national cricket team's captain. He was a right-handed middle order batter and an occasional medium fast bowler. He playe ...
, pro wrestler The
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...
, and more. When Schiavello was 21, a fight promoter in Melbourne asked him to commentate for the video of his show. Other promoters heard it, liked his style, and asked him to do their shows. Then, when
Foxtel
NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
(Fox Sports) came on air in 1996, they asked him to commentate for them.
Schiavello is currently commentating for Singapore-based MMA promotion
One Championship
ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...
. He has been the voice of
K-1
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii.
Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...
,
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
,
Sengoku
The was the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start ...
, ''
The Contender Asia
''The Contender Asia'' (known as ''The Contender: Kickboxer'' in the United Kingdom, and ''The Contender: Muay Thai'' in the United States) was a reality-based television series that follows 16 Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries a ...
'', and
AXS TV Fights
''AXS TV Fights'' is the brand name of AXS TV's live mixed martial arts (MMA), Muay Thai and kickboxing broadcasts. Formerly known as ''HDNET Fights'', the program's name was changed to ''AXS TV Fights'' in July 2012, following the network's rebr ...
(formerly HDNet), having signed with the North American broadcaster in July 2009 after capturing the attention of the network's billionaire owner,
Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American businessman and television personality. He is the former principal owner and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and co-owner of 2929 Entertain ...
. He left AXS TV in 2017.
Other promotions he has commentated for include:
MFC,
Invicta Fighting Championships
Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...
,
XFC
Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) is a premier international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in Spring Lake, Michigan, with offices throughout the United States and South America. The XFC showcases both male and female fighters, ad ...
,
Adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...
, Evolution, XPlosion,
King of the Cage
King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States.
History
KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...
,
BAMMA
BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...
, and
Legacy Fighting Championship
The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016.
History Resu ...
. Schiavello has also commentated for the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
and the
2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...
in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. He also helmed the biggest
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
event in Australian television history when, alongside the late
Clinton Grybas
Clinton Andrew Grybas (9 February 1975 – 5 January 2008) was a leading Australian rules football and sports radio and television commentator.
Career
His media career began at the South East Melbourne Magic basketball team as club journalist ...
,
Kostya Tszyu
Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu ( ; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian-Australian former professional b ...
,
Adam Watt
Adam Watt (born 10 November 1967) is an Australian former boxer and kickboxer. He has studied many forms of martial arts, kickboxing, Zen Chi Ryu, Seido-kaikan karate, and boxing. Watt became the first non Japanese live-in student of Seidokaik ...
, and
Paul Briggs, he was part of the broadcast team for
Danny Green vs
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Steven Mundine (born 21 May 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer and rugby league footballer. In boxing he competed from 2000 to 2021, and held the World Boxing Association (WBA) super-middleweight title twice between 2003 a ...
. Schiavello has commentated on over 4000 fights in more than 15 countries since 1996. Cities he has commentated in include
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Beijing,
Montego Bay
Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...
,
Lodz,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
,
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
,
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
,
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, and
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
.
Schiavello made a guest appearance on ''
The Joe Rogan Experience
''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...
'' podcast on 24 July 2011. In August 2015, he was a guest commentator for
Lucha Underground
Lucha Underground was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by United Artists, United Artists Media Group. ''Lucha Underground'' also refers to its weekly television program, which featured List of former Lucha Underground p ...
's ''
Ultima Lucha'' event.
In 2010, Schiavello became the first commentator to ever be nominated for the "Leading Man" Award at the
World MMA Awards
The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...
in Las Vegas. In September 2011, he was nominated for "Best Sports Host" at the 2011 CableFAX Cable TV Awards.
''The Voice Versus''
In 2010,
HDNet
AXS TV () is an American specialty television, cable television channel majority-owned by Canadian broadcaster Anthem Sports & Entertainment. It is devoted primarily to Music television, music-related programming (such as concert films, Document ...
launched ''The Voice Versus'' series in which host Michael Schiavello interviewed various combat sports personalities. The show was a one-hour sit down interview show with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment including:
*
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
*
Frank Dux
Frank William Dux (; born April 6, 1956) is a Canadian-American martial artist and fight choreographer. According to Dux, a ninjutsu expert named Senzo Tanaka trained him as a ninja when he was a teenager. He established his own school of ninju ...
*
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...
*
Badr Hari
Badr Hari (Arabic: بدر هاري; born 8 December 1984) is a Moroccan-Dutch professional kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. Born in Amsterdam, Hari made his professional kickboxing debut in 2000, and quickly rose to fame with his aggressive and ...
*
Hulk Hogan
Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...
*
Sugar Ray Leonard
Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
*
Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Jason Miller (born December 24, 1980), best known as Mayhem Miller, is an American podcaster, mixed martial artist, coach, actor, and television host. He is currently “Mayhem the Newsman,” on thAdam Carolla Show. He previously trained with Ki ...
*
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz () is an American politican and retired mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. Ortiz is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...
*
Alistair Overeem
Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fight ...
*
Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...
*
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...
*
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, ...
*
Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...
*
Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White (born November 10, 1967) is an American actor, martial artist, and director. Though he has appeared in a variety of genres, White is best known for his Action film, action and martial arts films. His first major starring role an ...
*
Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko; (born 28 September 1976) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA), sambist, judoka and politician. Emelianenko was the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion from 2003 to th ...
*
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round ...
*
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...
Nick Diaz
Nicholas Robert Diaz (born August 2, 1983) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Diaz is a former Strikeforce, WEC and ...
was scheduled to appear on the show in July 2013, but he did not show up for the interview.
To date, ''The Voice Versus'' has filmed in four countries: the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
Personal life
Michael Schiavello relocated from his native Melbourne to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
with his wife, Irena, in September 2011.
In 2017, the family decided to return to Australia.
Schiavello became a
Freemason
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
in 2009, joining Balwyn-Deepdene Lodge No. 275 where he was raised to a Master Mason in 2010, before switching to Daylite Lodge No. 44 upon his relocation to the US.
Books
*''Bouncer! Real Life Stories''
998
Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius II (the Younger) and his followers ...
*''Offside! The Wild Side of Soccer''
000
Triple zero, Zero Zero Zero, 0-0-0 or variants may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* 000, the size of several small List of screw drives, screw drives
* 0-0-0, a Droid (Star Wars)#0-0-0, dro ...
*''Bodies of the Rich and Famous''
000
Triple zero, Zero Zero Zero, 0-0-0 or variants may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* 000, the size of several small List of screw drives, screw drives
* 0-0-0, a Droid (Star Wars)#0-0-0, dro ...
*''ReflexJack''
001*''Know Thyself: Using the Symbols of Freemasonry to Improve Your Life''
016
The Home Guard Special Division 016 (; abbreviated as HV-016) is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's abili ...
*''Freemasonry's Hidden Brain Science''
019
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* '' Dici ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiavello, Michael
1975 births
Sportspeople from Melbourne
Television personalities from Melbourne
Journalists from Melbourne
Living people
Mixed martial arts broadcasters
Kickboxing commentators
Australian sports broadcasters
American television sports announcers
Mixed martial arts people
Boxing commentators
Australian sports commentators
Color commentators
Australian Freemasons
Professional wrestling announcers