Revisiting the "World Class" Wrestler Label

[skibum90]

I think a national level tournament in a country that is a strong wrestling power, like the yarygin, is ironically likely to be even more competitive than most international competitions; since there are more spots open for killers who might not be making the world team for their country, that are not earmarked for teams from other parts of the globe that might not be as strong.

Any MMA fighters place in Yarygin? I know Cormier did one year but have there been any others?

 

[dsdoubled]

Any MMA fighters place in Yarygin? I know Cormier did one year but have there been any others?

Cormier actually won it. So did Steve Mocco. I believe that's all for MMAers.

 

[dirtroller]

Alright I am ready to get a new list of World Class wrestlers in MMA going. I am only counting Greco and Freestyle success right now

Daniel Cormier
Ben Askren
Henry Cejudo
Yoel Romero
Rulon Gardner
Mark Coleman
Kevin Jackson
Mark Schultz
Mark Kerr
Dan Severn
Matt Lindland
Dan Henderson
Randy Couture
Steve Mocco
Cole Konrad
Joe Warren
Shawn Bunch
Darrion Caldwell
Ed Ruth
Bubba Jenkins
King Mo
Royce Alger

I know I am missing some and I am not good with some of the foreign wrestlers and non US MMA promotions.

Aaron Pico

 

[skibum90]

Aaron Pico

I realized I forgot him and a few others and added them to a later reply

 

[14.09]

Alright I am ready to get a new list of World Class wrestlers in MMA going. I am only counting Greco and Freestyle success right now

Daniel Cormier
Ben Askren
Henry Cejudo
Yoel Romero
Rulon Gardner
Mark Coleman
Kevin Jackson
Mark Schultz
Mark Kerr
Dan Severn
Matt Lindland
Dan Henderson
Randy Couture
Steve Mocco
Cole Konrad
Joe Warren
Shawn Bunch
Darrion Caldwell
Ed Ruth
Bubba Jenkins
King Mo
Royce Alger

I know I am missing some and I am not good with some of the foreign wrestlers and non US MMA promotions.

Karam Gaber Ibrahim
Istvan Majoros
Eldar Kurtanidze
Katsuhiko Nagata

 

[dirtroller]

I realized I forgot him and a few others and added them to a later reply

I'm super excited about Pico. He's the only world class wrestler I can think of that made the transition to MMA while still really young. Even NCAA champs are 23-24 by the time they start training. Pico started at 18-19 and he happens to have good amateur boxing experience.

 

[Uchi Mata]

I think you can be world class without having actually competed at the world level. In countries will deep talent pools there are plenty of people who would be competitive internationally who don't compete outside their home country. In Japanese Judo, for instance, the top 5 guys in most weight classes would be favored to medal at any international event of any caliber, but most of them won't get the opportunity to try. American wrestling is much the same, I agree that most NCAA champions would be competitive at a high level on the world stage. The ones who do make the transition have a pretty good record of success.

 

[dsdoubled]

I think you can be world class without having actually competed at the world level. In countries will deep talent pools there are plenty of people who would be competitive internationally who don't compete outside their home country. In Japanese Judo, for instance, the top 5 guys in most weight classes would be favored to medal at any international event of any caliber, but most of them won't get the opportunity to try. American wrestling is much the same, I agree that most NCAA champions would be competitive at a high level on the world stage. The ones who do make the transition have a pretty good record of success.

Totally agree. There are so many examples to support this. Look at Deron Winn, never even wrestled Division I or II and has a ton of International medals. Jamil Kelly couldn't become a JUCO National champ or an NCAA DI All American but won an Olympic silver medal and made a few world teams. Daniel Igali wrestled NAIA and won a world and Olympic gold medal. The overall competition level in NCAA DI wrestling is incredibly high.

 

[Tirofijo2001]

Darrell Gholar?

"Gholar was a three time United States Greco-Roman National Champion, alternate on the 1988 Olympic team and captain of the 1986 U.S. World team. When the modern Olympics celebrated 100 years of competition in 1996, Gholar was ranked number three in career wins for the U.S. at the 180.5 weight class."

 

[dsdoubled]

Darrell Gholar?

"Gholar was a three time United States Greco-Roman National Champion, alternate on the 1988 Olympic team and captain of the 1986 U.S. World team. When the modern Olympics celebrated 100 years of competition in 1996, Gholar was ranked number three in career wins for the U.S. at the 180.5 weight class."

Yep. Gholar is on my original list.

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/world-class-wrestlers-who-have-tried-mma.3226159/

 

[dsdoubled]

I think a national level tournament in a country that is a strong wrestling power, like the yarygin or NCAA final, is ironically likely to be even more competitive than most international competitions; since there are more spots open for killers who might not be making the world team for their country, that are not earmarked for teams from other parts of the globe that might not be as strong.

This is a great point. I think of the 2013 Yarygin. The guy that won the 97 kilo class has never made a world team while the rest of the division featured wrestlers that possessed a total of 16 world and Olympic medals, 8 of them gold. That is obviously an incredible example but it supports your point.

 

[dsdoubled]

Darrell Gholar?

"Gholar was a three time United States Greco-Roman National Champion, alternate on the 1988 Olympic team and captain of the 1986 U.S. World team. When the modern Olympics celebrated 100 years of competition in 1996, Gholar was ranked number three in career wins for the U.S. at the 180.5 weight class."

Another fun fact, Gholar was a national sombo champ as well.