Will JO be at 70kg for the Non-Olympic Year?

[broyles_152 15]

What do you guys think?

[rlw028 106]

I think he is done wrestling and moving towards MMA.

[de4856 379]

I saw a tweet from him, saying he will be back wrestling next year. Not sure what weight though. But obviously he could change his mind.

[Pinnum 846]

I thought he looked good technically but looked like he wasn't conditioned well.

 

I would really like to see him return.

[Grecojones 206]

Heard a rumor he wasn't "right" for the OTT...

[Buckxell 145]

Heard a rumor he wasn't "right" for the OTT...

What does that mean?

[Grecojones 206]

What does that mean?

On Flow radio they said there were credible rumors going around that he was battling injury. What we saw apparently was not JO @ 100%

[Buckxell 145]

On Flow radio they said there were credible rumors going around that he was battling injury. What we saw apparently was not JO @ 100%

Didn't know that, thanks. He looked good to me against Pico until he faded... Maybe an injury prohibited him from training enough?

[CA_Wrestler 336]

Nobody was 100% for the OTT.  You can say that for any tournament.

[Grecojones 206]

Nobody was 100% for the OTT.  You can say that for any tournament.

There are degrees... If he was banged up that's one thing. If he was battling through an injury that's different. It's an observation not an excuse. And if it's an accurate observation it would support the idea that he could perform better and would likely come back for another go next year.

[Flying-Tiger 617]

Right, look at Humphrey, he was clearly injured. Pico got a free pass to the finals against a guy that destroyed him last time they met. 

[maligned 529]

Right, look at Humphrey, he was clearly injured. Pico got a free pass to the finals against a guy that destroyed him last time they met. 

I'm as big a Hump fan as there is, but he's always a shell of himself coming back within 90 minutes of a war.  He was hurt, but I think Pico would have beaten him in those same circumstances 8 times out of 10, even if his ankle was ok.

[Angry_Fish 313]

There are degrees... If he was banged up that's one thing. If he was battling through an injury that's different. It's an observation not an excuse. And if it's an accurate observation it would support the idea that he could perform better and would likely come back for another go next year.

 

Have the following from what I consider to be a very reliable source on JO info:

 

1. The Pico match was his first live action in 3 months as he had been nursing a serious shoulder injury.  This affected his wind and strength

 

2. He did not go public with the info b/c he understands that staying healthy is part of being a great/successful wrestler. They are not just measured on how well they can perform when at their peak.

 

3. He also knows that talking about it now makes it look like he is making excuses.  So he sees no point in talking much about it.

 

The rest is my opinion, not from a source....

 

1. JO makes no secret about his dislike for traveling overseas to compete. He has enough talent to enjoy some amount of success with limited international travel, but ultimately his reluctance to compete overseas lowers his ceiling.

 

2. JO makes no secret that he wants to get in the cage someday.  But he also said he plans to wrestle next year.  This supports the idea that he wants at least one more healthy run at a World team before going in the ring full time.

 

3. Even when he goes MMA, I won't be at all surprised to see him still show up at The US Open and WTTs to compete.  While he trains exponentially harder than any of us on this board, I tend to believe in the theory that he does not train at the level of guys like Metcalf, Ramos, Dake, etc..  He relies more on talent and less on training than the other top guys.  This being the case, the notion of him competing at future US Open's/WTTs without being fully dedicated to wrestling is not far-fetched IMO.

 

4. We would have a better shot at getting 65KG qualified and winning a medal overseas if JO won OTTs than FM.  But I would say the same thing about a lot of the guys at 65KG.  But I'm still pulling for Frank as hard as a I can now that he earned the spot.