A “career-ending” injury and a stomach bug before a fight couldn’t stop Sunshine Coast mixed martial artist Erin Carter from bringing home a silver medal at the 2025 World Championships.
“Life is a fight,” Ms Carter said.
The athlete, who began martial arts at just nine years old, has represented Australia six times across four different sports — karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai and MMA — and claimed an impressive list of titles, including the 2017 WMO Kickboxing World Championship, ISKA World Cup and 2019 International Thai World Games Championship, along with silver medals at the 2021 and 2025 IMMAF World Championships.
But the 23-year-old’s path to success has been anything but easy.
In March 2022, Ms Carter suffered a devastating knee injury during training. A botched first surgery left her unable to straighten her leg or walk properly for more than a year.
“I was told by my second surgeon that my knee might never be the same due to the damage done by the first surgeon, and that I might not be able to compete again,” she said.
“But I persevered and refused to let another person’s opinion dictate my future.”
Over the next three years, Ms Carter underwent four surgeries and countless hours of rehabilitation with physiotherapist Jordan Craig at Back to Bounce Physiotherapy. Even when she couldn’t compete, she stayed in the gym, lifting weights and training.
After years of setbacks and frustration, Ms Carter made her long-awaited return to the cage in March 2025.
“I fractured my nose in training in the lead-up to the fight, but I had overcome so much already that I wasn’t going to let that stop me,” she said.
Ms Carter went on to claim a decisive victory over a tough opponent.
“The three years absent from competition and training were extremely challenging, and there were a lot of days filled with tears and frustration,” she said.
“But overcoming it all and getting a win in my comeback fight is truly my proudest accomplishment to date. I told myself every day during my setbacks and surgeries: ‘Against all odds, still I rise’.”
Her resilience was tested again at the 2025 IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, when she came down with a stomach bug just before competing.
“I had to really push hard mentally through the two fights I had, as I was feeling so flat,” she said.
“I won my first fight against Ukraine by TKO in the first round, which was an amazing feeling. My second fight in the finals was against Finland. Although it was really close and could have gone either way, I didn’t get the judges’ decision.
“Although I was gutted not to bring home the gold, I’m proud of myself considering how sick I was and that this was my first year back competing since my knee surgeries.”
Ms Carter credits much of her comeback to her coach Ryan Dunstan and the team at Ignite Martial Arts Academy in Caloundra.
“Ryan has never stopped believing in me throughout every setback I’ve had, even in my lowest points during rehab and losses when I struggled to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
“The energy he creates, the gym’s atmosphere, and his mind for fighting are truly something special.”
Now, Ms Carter has her sights set on turning professional in 2026.
“I’m keen to get that ball rolling and make my way to the UFC to become the UFC World Bantamweight Champion,” she said.
