MMA is good for wrestlers

It used to be after your college wrestling days you pretty much had to find a job in the real world. If you were very very good one could try out for the olympics but besides that and getting into coaching that was about it. Now with the recent explosion/growth in MMA (UFC) wrestlers have another avenue to use their talents. A good ground game is essential for MMA and what better to learn a ground game than by wrestling. I think something like 40% of UFCs' fighters wrestled in college. Just off the top of my head for wrestlers turned MMA superstars: Brock Lesnar, Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randelman, Matt Hughes, Rampage Jackson, Matt Lindland, Rashad Evans, Randy Coutoure, Frank Trigg.

Also just the physical/cardio endurnace transfers well from wrestling to MMA. They are both very tiring sports which require an extraordinary amount of stamina. Edited by: whiteCB

MMA has indeed become a "pro" avenue for college wrestlers. College wrestlers are some of the best athletes, so I'm glad to see MMA grow in popularity (for many reasons...including pro option). It's a shame to see college wrestling not get the same press (save for the Midwest) as basketball (which is so caste oriented these days).

P.S. - I was really hoping 4 time NCAA D1 champ (Iowa State) and Olympic Gold medalist Cael Sanderson would've went into MMA (for a few years at least). However, he's currently the head coach at Penn State.Edited by: DixieDestroyer

White CB, I was going to start a topic like this also. Good call and good points.

I may add that MMA is mostly dominated by grapplers/wrestlers. Stand up strikers without those skills are limited and almost always get exposed.
In MMA, a fighter can be a good wrestler/grappler and a poor striker and still do well. But as a striker only it is more difficult. This is another reason why whites dominate MMA. Whites have dominated wrestling forever especially the thick, stocky, power types. Ironically, Rampage and Evans are built more like white men than the typical black with string bean arms and skinny legs. The gangly body type that was so usefull for boxing is now more or less worthless in MMA. Fighting will never be the same again.

Yeah I was going to say that learning a stand up game is not nearly as hard as learning the ground game. In that essence wrestlers all ready have a leg up on anybody who's getting into MMA. I think the saying goes, "90% of all fights end up on the ground so brush up on your grapling skills". Watching tons of MMA fights has proven this quote to be true over and over again. I remember Royce Gracie when he lost to Matt Hughes say he got beat by "his own moves" or something to that effect. Matt Hughes countered, "No, I just beat him using American wrestling". I love that line.

A quick little side story about our "favorite" football coach Barry Switzer. Well when Switzer was coaching at Oklahoma two of his big tough football players got in a fight with an OU wrestler. The football players got their asses handed to them by just one guy. Switzer couldn't believe his players got beaten up by just one guy. So Barry tells the OU wrestling coach to bring the wrestler to his office. Switzer's waiting to see some heavyweight goliath walk through his office doors. Turns out it was just the starting 118 lbs guy on the wrestling team. LOL

Haha funny story White CB

Always admired wrestlers for their work ethic and toughness. Dan Gable is/was one of the greatest non-team sport athletes this country has ever produced.

It's a cryin' shame to see Title IX damaging wrestling programs in American universities. The larger programs are okay but the mid-sized and smallish programs are under fire all the time.

GSP seems to be relying on his wrestling a lot now.

Poacher said:

Always admired wrestlers for their work ethic and toughness. Dan Gable is/was one of the greatest non-team sport athletes this country has ever produced.

It's a cryin' shame to see Title IX damaging wrestling programs in American universities. The larger programs are okay but the mid-sized and smallish programs are under fire all the time.

GSP seems to be relying on his wrestling a lot now.

Click to expand...

Poacher, Absolutely! Dan Gable was not only the best wrestlers of all-time, but one of the top athletes as well. He would have been dominant at MMA, had it been around during his prime. I totally agree about T9. I'd love to see wrestling in the SEC & ACC (here in the South).

DixieDestroyer said:

MMA has indeed become a "pro" avenue for college wrestlers. College wrestlers are some of the best athletes, so I'm glad to see MMA grow in popularity (for many reasons...including pro option). It's a shame to see college wrestling not get the same press (save for the Midwest) as basketball (which is so caste oriented these days).

Click to expand...

I'd like to see top Graeco guys fight top free/folkstyle guys in MMA.

I was a wrestler. Now I play a lot of pick-up basketball to stay in shape. You can always spot another former wrestler on the court by their relentless play (no resting) and body positioning. Sometimes they have a horrible shot too. Not me though, I got a pretty sweet shot if I do say so myself. Lets just say it's nice to win the three point shooting contest at your high school annual alumni tournament and show-up all the B-ballers as well as your former 7th grade BB coach who sat you on the bench and made you a wrestler.