Standout Amateur Wrestlers We Wish Would Make the MMA Leap
With each of the UFC's nine weight classes stockpiled with former collegiate wrestlers, the company's brass should consider the NCAA Division I wrestling championships a de facto feeder system.
Since the UFC's inception in 1993, amateur wrestlers have taken alternative avenues for success following their collegiate or Olympic careers by fearlessly jumping in the Octagon, some with sparse MMA training.
UFC stars, such as Cain Velasquez, Chris Weidman and Johny Hendricks, among many others, have used their wrestling chops to soar to the tops of their respective weight divisions.
With another UFC stalwart potentially in the works, company president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva can pluck plenty of talent from this year's NCAA championships in March in Oklahoma City.
In the same vein, plenty of primed wrestling talent was on display at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Many of those competitors will gear up for the 2016 Olympics, and if White's lucky, a few will make the leap to MMA.
Here are five standout amateur wrestlers that fans would love to see make the leap to MMA.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 7
Jordan Oliver
He's a slick takedown artist who won three Pennsylvania Class AAA state titles in high school before capturing NCAA titles in 2010-11 and 2012-13 for Oklahoma State. He was a four-time All-American who finished with a career mark of 89-6.
Ed Ruth
An explosive athlete who won an NHSCA High School national title in 2008, he has become one of the best wrestlers in the history of Penn State, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He hasn't lost since the 2010-11 NCAA tournament and sports a career record of 102-2 in his senior campaign.
Hamid Sourian
He's a rare mat technician who's won five world championships in Greco-Roman wrestling. He won the gold medal in the 55-KG category at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, and he finished fourth in the same weight class at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
6. Coleman Scott
2 of 7
Coleman Scott followed a prolific career at Oklahoma State that included an NCAA championship in 2008 by wrestling masterfully in the 60-KG division (freestyle) at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Scott won his first-round and quarterfinal-round matches at the Olympics before falling to eventual gold medalist Toghrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan) in the semifinals. Scott then bested Japan's Kenichi Yumoto, a 2008 bronze medalist, to claim a bronze medal of his own.
Scott obviously possesses a strong wrestling base, and as seen on the third episode of UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks, he still has a galvanizing connection with former Cowboys' teammate Johny Hendricks.
Although he's currently training for the 2014 World Championships and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Scott certainly has all the physical and mental tools needed to transition to MMA.
5. Kyle Dake
3 of 7By becoming the only wrestler in NCAA history to capture four titles in four different weight classes, Cornell University's Kyle Dake was named Sports Illustrated's Male College Athlete of the year in 2013.
Then, in June, Dake pushed Jordan Burroughs to the brink of defeat at the USA Wrestling World Team Trials, losing to the 2012 Olympic gold medalist (freestyle) in overtime of Round 2 of the 74-KG division.
Although Dake has yet to show interest in becoming an MMA star, the 22-year-old New York native clearly has the time and all the variables needed to do so.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
4. Mijain Lopez
4 of 7
No heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler in recent years can say they've duplicated the feats of Cuban Mijain Lopez.
Lopez not only captured the 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championship at 120-KG, the 31-year-old then took home back-to-back gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games at 120-KG.
A physical specimen with tremendous strength and impeccable technique, Lopez could easily follow in the footsteps of former Greco-Roman Olympians Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson and assume a career as a professional mixed martial artist.
3. Jake Varner
5 of 7
A disciple of Cael Sanderson, Jake Varner followed the legendary coach from Iowa State to Penn State when the former four-time NCAA champ took on a new coaching role.
Varner mirrored Sanderson for years and ultimately adopted many of the traits that propelled the Utah native to a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
Varner won two NCAA titles at Iowa State, but with the guidance of Sanderson in following years, he morphed into a more efficient beast in international competition.
Varner's dedication paid dividends when the California native took home a gold medal of his own in freestyle wrestling at 96-KG in the 2012 Olympics.
If f he ever makes the leap to MMA, though, the 27-year-old would-be light heavyweight would need to find a new favorite move other than the ankle pick that Sanderson helped him prefect. Without wrestling shoes, the ankle has proven an extremely arduous technique to pull off in MMA.
2. Artur Taymazov
6 of 7
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Uzbekistani phenom Artur Taymazov stated his case as the best freestyle wrestler in Olympic history by claiming his third straight gold medal in the 120-KG class.
A heavyweight with catlike speed and the strength of a bull, Taymazov won a silver medal at 130-KG at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney before winning gold medals in the next three Olympics at 120.
By nabbing his fourth medal, Taymazov matched Russian Greco-Roman great Aleksandr Karelin, who won three Olympic gold medals and a silver between 1988 and 2000.
Physiologically and psychologically, Taymazov fits the bill for a potentially successful mixed martial artist.
If Taymazov wants to switch sports, though, the most prolific athlete in the history of Uzbekistan needs to make his move. After all, Taymazov began wrestling at age 11 and he turned 34 in July.
1. Jordan Burroughs
7 of 7Extraordinary explosiveness, uncanny mat savvy and superior athleticism are just a few superlatives perpetually used to describe 2012 Olympic gold medalist (freestyle) Jordan Burroughs.
Months after winning his second NCAA title for the University of Nebraska and taking home the Hodge Trophy, Burroughs won the 2011 FILA World Championships to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
In the 74-KG championship match in London, Burroughs nipped Iran's Sadegh Goudarzi, joining Jake Varner as the only other American wrestler to take home a gold in freestyle wrestling in London.
Throughout his Olympic run, Burroughs overwhelmed foes with his freakish strength, speed and ability to keep a relentless pace. In the case that an opponent stopped his blast double-leg takedown early, Burroughs maintained his confidence and simply waited for the right time to attempt his bread-and-butter.
The 25-year-old Burroughs also embodied the ideal defensive wrestler in the Olympics, showing a knack for avoiding precarious situations, particularly late in matches.
Vibrancy, superb scrambling skills and superior mental toughness, among several other assets, make Burroughs the amateur wrestler with the most potential to succeed in MMA.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
