From Tights to Fights: ASU Wrestlers Find Success in UFC

Contributor Written on July 08, 2009

With the biggest event in UFC history on tap this weekend, a couple former Arizona State Sun Devils will have crucial fights in what is sure to be the most watched event in MMA history.

Dan Henderson faces his fellow Ultimate Fighter coach, Michael Bisping, while CB Dolloway squares off with Tim Lawlor.

Henderson and Dolloway, along with fellow former All-American Sun Devil Cain Velasquez, have already competed under several UFC cards and against some of the best fighters in the world.

Ryan Bader and Aaron Simpson have become the next former maroon and gold gladiators to join the UFC ranks. With Bader winning the eighth season of the company’s popular competition show: “The Ultimate Fighter,” and Simpson defeating Tim McKenzie by TKO in his first UFC bout.

“Wrestling emphasizes body and position control so you can dictate where the fight goes,” said Bader, a one time pre-law student at ASU. “But you have to learn all the aspects (of MMA) or you are not going to go very far.”

Bader, along with Velasquez and Dollaway, were all members of the 2006 Sun Devil wrestling team that had a strong showing at the NCAA championships, leading them to a respectable No. 13 national rank.

“We had a great group of guys and we pushed each other. We had a great coaching staff that helped us push from September to March.”

This “pipeline” might have dried up prematurely in the spring of 2008 when, due to the rising costs of operating its program, Arizona State was going to remove wrestling as a varsity sport. 10 days later, it was announced that wrestling would remain at ASU due to financial support from civic leadership.

This support came on the heels of Dollaway’s strong showing on “The Ultimate Fighter,” where “The Doberman” competed in the final competition, and Henderson’s competitive middleweight championship bout at UFC 82 against Anderson “The Spider” Silva, one of the most popular and talented fighters in the UFC. While neither of these one-time Sun Devils came out on top in their respective fights, they generated attention and support for a wrestling program that is not only producing fine athletes, but fine collegians.

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