I think that being a D1 All American puts you at an elite level as far as wrestling. Or if you’re an exceptional wrestler like Joey Davis who was a 4x D2 champion, or Haselrig who won it 6 times and also competed in MMA well past his prime.
I do not…
And your opinion means so much…
2 Likes
One of the major problems going back to Yoel Romero is that great wrestlers fall in love with throwing hands and don’t use their wrestling. Compare Gable and Bo to Khabib who used nothing much other than wrestling and dominated.
1 Like
Ben Askren too.
He got flack for only using wrestling to control and dominate his opponents. “Boring wrestlefuck” was the constant refrain during his mma career.
His stand up was… below par. But, every single one of his opponents knew exactly what he was gonna do because he told them exactly what he was gonna do and no one could stop him. Until Masvidal did. By then, he was already 34 years old (I googled that haha).
But revisionists on the internet like to shit on him saying he was a predictable and boring wrestler. But, if an elite wrestler like Askren gets past your hands and feet and gets his hands on you, it doesn’t matter if he’s predictable. You’re in trouble.
Khabib’s mma wrestling was fantastic. But, he had much better hands and footwork than Askren, who wasn’t traditionally “athletic.”
Khabib used his elite mma wrestling to dominate a generation. Is wrestling “over?” Nonsense.
I remember a forum discussion once talking about the meanest and most vicious fighters in mma. At the time, the consensus was guys like Wanderlei. Someone came along and said GSP. Everyone laughed at him saying GSP was a gentleman. He countered that GSP could finish guys everywhere if he chose, but he started to take guys down and systematically break them for five rounds. Nothing anyone could do to stop his mma wrestling. It was a good point. Wrestling is fuckin mean if you can’t stop it. The moment people say “boring” to me, I start to get an inkling that they might be “anonymous forum nerds.”
3 Likes
4 Likes
askren is retired so is Cejudo neither of them would be current top 100..Valasquez hasnt had a match in 20 years and was never top 30..Larkin never top 50,Pico hasnt had a match in 15 years besides RAF But was very good so ill give u him…Oliver has done nothing in MMA.Ruth has done nothing and was never top 30 but was very good in college,Jenkins hasnt had a match in 15 years and was never world class but was NCAA champ…
barely any of those fought in UFC.
Larkin was 3rd at the Olympic trials and won university worlds along with the NCAA tournament and a Hodge Trophy. Ed Ruth placed 5th at worlds when he made a world team in addition to his 3 NCAA titles.
This isn’t UFC. This is MMA. There’s also been a lot of other wrestlers who were world class and did fuck all in MMA.
1 Like
not every wrestler will be champ..Half the fighters lose on every card…American wrestlers have by far the most wins in UFC and Bellator The other shows I dont watch enough of to say.But the top current American wrestlers do not do MMA..Bo and Stevenson if wrestled would be considered elite..Bo is having a very good career No shame in losing to Riddler who is very good and big for 185..Stevenson Im glad he lost But if he drops being a kickboxer would do better
Ruth is very good and Ill say elite and did pretty well in MMA..Which Larkin are u referring to ?
I am gonna try to name them. Please tell me hpw far off I am
Henry, Yoel, Askren, Gable, DC?
Cole Konrad
2 Likes
Eric. He fought a few times in Bellator.
“Ray Longo: Gable Steveson Is a “Phony,” and Jon Jones Is the Worst Possible Mentor for Him”
You fellow posters should watch the video
1 Like
had minimal mma fights 3 and 1 …was a very good wrestler
Joe Warren, Mark Madsen.
2 Likes
He retired
Shinobu Ota. Japanese silver medalist and world champ. Hasn’t done that well in MMA but is still competing.