NJDan 1,113 Report post Posted April 25, 2021 (edited) I don't follow MMA at all, but I was intrigued about the history of Kamaru Usman, who just knocked out the guy who knocked out poor Ben Askren. Turns out he was a D2 champ and aspiring Olympian despite not starting wrestling until his sophomore year of high school. It's not clear to me if he had any real shot at the Olympic team. Did he? It seems that a lot of top MMA guys were not quite first rank wrestlers, though some, like Askren and Cormier, were first rank. Here is Wikipedia on Usman's wrestling career: Usman started wrestling in his sophomore year in high school, at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas. Because Usman's wrestling coach at the time had trouble pronouncing his first name Kamarudeen, he got the nickname "Marty" when he joined the team and it stuck with him during his amateur wrestling career.[21][22] After compiling a 53-3 record in high school wrestling and placing third at the Texas state championships, Usman wrestled alongside Jon Jones at the senior national tournament before leaving for college.[23] In college, Usman wrestled in Iowa at William Penn University for one year, where he was an NAIA national tournament qualifier in 2007, but was unable to attend the tournament due to a snowstorm; half of his team and his head coach, however, had left early for the tournament without him, which frustrated Usman and influenced him to leave William Penn.[24] He later transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), which had previously tried to recruit him under advisement of then-UNK wrestler Tervel Dlagnev, and subsequently helped the Lopers win their first-ever team title in 2008.[24] Usman placed top 3 in the nation all three years he attended UNK, and was a two-time national finalist.[25] He became the NCAA Division II national champion at 174 pounds in 2010, finishing the season with a 44-1 record and 30 straight wins.[26] Shortly after his folkstyle career was over, Usman turned his attention to freestyle wrestling and became a resident of the United States Olympic Training Center, with hopes of making the 2012 Olympic team.[27][28] Despite making the US University World Team in 2010, Usman was sidetracked by injuries and eventually abandoned his Olympic goal after failing to qualify for the '12 US Olympic Team Trials, turning his attention to mixed martial arts instead.[29][30] Former National Football League (NFL) star Christian Okoye, who has the nickname "The Nigerian Nightmare" trademarked, gave his blessing for Usman to use it. Edited April 25, 2021 by NJDan added note 1 TobusRex reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NJDan 1,113 Report post Posted April 25, 2021 (edited) Oh, just noted that he was not a great freestyler. Wiki says his record, almost all against domestic competition, was just 36-35. Pretty mush all his opponents whose names I recognize beat him. Edited April 26, 2021 by NJDan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHamilton 1,026 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 34 minutes ago, NJDan said: Oh, just noted that he was not a great freestyler. Wiki says his record, all against domestic competition, was just 36-35. Pretty mush all his opponents whose names I recognize beat him. Beat Downey. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NJDan 1,113 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 21 minutes ago, AHamilton said: Beat Downey. Ha! So he did, tho it seems that Downey was just 19 at the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHamilton 1,026 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, NJDan said: Ha! So he did, tho it seems that Downey was just 19 at the time. He entered the tournament! Also has a win over a Paulson and JP O'Conner. Took a period from Keith Gavin. Edited April 26, 2021 by AHamilton Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NJDan 1,113 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, AHamilton said: He entered the tournament! Also has a win over a Paulson and JP O'Conner. Took a period from Keith Gavin. Paulson was an injury win. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AHamilton 1,026 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 Just now, NJDan said: Paulson was an injury win. Still a win. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jchapman 1,337 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 16 hours ago, AHamilton said: Still a win. Not according to FLO Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaroslav Hasek 2,067 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 1 hour ago, jchapman said: Not according to FLO injury defaults are still wins, they just aren't factored into college rankings. please stop spreading lies. an apology would also be appreciated. thank you. 2 1 GranbyTroll, Stl and Housebuye reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jchapman 1,337 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 43 minutes ago, Jaroslav Hasek said: injury defaults are still wins, they just aren't factored into college rankings. please stop spreading lies. an apology would also be appreciated. thank you. I'm sorry FLO doesn't factor all official results into college rankings. 2 Housebuye and TexRef reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaroslav Hasek 2,067 Report post Posted April 26, 2021 3 hours ago, jchapman said: I'm sorry FLO doesn't factor all official results into college rankings. apology accepted. thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drew87 349 Report post Posted April 28, 2021 (edited) There is footage if him wrestling with Cael at the OTC, and footage of him big brothering Mack Lewnes a bit. He looks strong as an oxe but pretty raw in his technique. Dude was/is a very good wrestler. Edited April 28, 2021 by Drew87 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PinFallRecruit 77 Report post Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/25/2021 at 7:21 PM, NJDan said: In college, Usman wrestled in Iowa at William Penn University for one year, where he was an NAIA national tournament qualifier in 2007, but was unable to attend the tournament due to a snowstorm; half of his team and his head coach, however, had left early for the tournament without him, which frustrated Usman and influenced him to leave William Penn.[2 I remember that storm. Surprised more teams didn't get stuck. William Penn was real good back in those days. If I remember correctly, they had 2, maybe 3, vans and decided that they couldn't make it after they had already left because they had to take IA back roads to get to the interstate. They piled their Srs. and AA contenders into one van and eventually made it. My teammate (placed 1, 2, 4, 4) won the Outstanding wrestler award and beat a William Penn kid (placed 2, 2, 3, 4) in the finals. 1 1 Housebuye and Plasmodium reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plasmodium 2,304 Report post Posted April 29, 2021 11 hours ago, PinFallRecruit said: I remember that storm. Surprised more teams didn't get stuck. William Penn was real good back in those days. If I remember correctly, they had 2, maybe 3, vans and decided that they couldn't make it after they had already left because they had to take IA back roads to get to the interstate. They piled their Srs. and AA contenders into one van and eventually made it. My teammate (placed 1, 2, 4, 4) won the Outstanding wrestler award and beat a William Penn kid (placed 2, 2, 3, 4) in the finals. Can't fault him for getting angry over that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TobusRex 2,108 Report post Posted April 29, 2021 The bad weather endured by the guys in the Midwest and Northeast during wrestling season is insane. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ionel 2,728 Report post Posted April 29, 2021 12 minutes ago, TobusRex said: The bad weather endured by the guys in the Midwest and Northeast during wrestling season is insane. Most have indoor practice facilities these days, we are way past the outdoor horse hair mat era. 2 Plasmodium and TobusRex reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TobusRex 2,108 Report post Posted April 29, 2021 1 hour ago, ionel said: Most have indoor practice facilities these days, we are way past the outdoor horse hair mat era. That's why Okies are tougher, I guess! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swayz 163 Report post Posted May 3, 2021 On 4/29/2021 at 9:25 AM, TobusRex said: The bad weather endured by the guys in the Midwest and Northeast during wrestling season is insane. Yet we still have more options of college wrestling than warmer states... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TobusRex 2,108 Report post Posted May 3, 2021 1 hour ago, Swayz said: Yet we still have more options of college wrestling than warmer states... That's because southern boys are soft. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites