From UFC Connected, collegiate wrestler-turned UFC fighter Bo Nickal shares his top 5 favorite American wrestlers. Watch the full …
Collegiate sensation Bo nickel is the latest in a long line of elite athletes with a decorated history in traditional American wrestling who successfully transitioned to MMA the Penn State standout was introduced to UFC fans via the contender series but it’s his impressive debut at UFC 285 that confirmed his status as a bright Prospect in the middleweight division we sat down with Beau and found out who made his list of American wrestlers who found success at mma’s highest level in the UFC and here’s Bo nickel one of the most highly wrestler as we’ve ever seen wrestling fundamentals are an incredibly important tool to have when going into MMA because if your wrestling fundamentals are better than your opponents you decide where the fight happens he’s not just taking people down and lying on them he’s not just cracking them with the right hand he is taking people out of there and he’s doing it in style I think that we see so many great American wrestlers transition MMA because of how strong American wrestling is there’s such a strong tradition of Americans competing well in the world championships in the Olympics and then in addition to that kids are brought up with youth wrestling High School Collegiate it really prepares you for that next level of competition in what the UFC is you know and being able to have all those competition reps from a young age I really feel there’s no way to discredit the value in that I’m Bo nickel and these are my top five greatest American wrestlers in UFC history coming in at number five Daniel Cormier two-time United States Olympic wrestler UFC light heavyweight champion of the world truly an elite athlete here Daniel Cormier Daniel cormier’s fighting style was different and unique because he really mixed up the boxing and the wrestling really well separates him from a lot of other wrestlers oh my god wow look at that I think of DC’s wrestling I automatically think of his fight with Alexander Gustafson and him just picking him up above his head and totally flipping him slamming him that’s Daniel Cormier ladies and gentlemen he was pretty famous for those but the one versus uh Gustafson really stands out to me that’s high level wrestling every time I saw a DC fight I expected to see a dog the technique the athleticism the conditioning the power we’re everything he’s a beast he had great cardio he was able to go five rounds they’re gonna go the distance and the same time he had a lot of power and was able to finish fights definitely a fierce competitor coming in at number four Brock Lesnar [Music] a national champions and I think Brock was considered such a great wrestler in MMA because his power and his ability to just absolutely Pummel guys [Applause] to see that guy coming at you not only trying to land punches but trying to take you down and beat you up on the ground had to been pretty terrifying wow wow has done it having that combination of size strength athleticism and knowing how to wrestle definitely dangerous two great wrestlers and there is a ton of respect him winning the UFC title against Randy Couture you know just put on an absolutely awesome performance against a fellow wrestler unfortunately but there can only be one so you know when I think of his career I really think that moment of him becoming UFC champion was just so huge oh [Applause] and my number three pick is Mark Schultz had to go a little old school with this one Mark Schultz wrestling accolades really speak for themselves three-time NCAA Champion two-time world champion Olympic gold medalist it really doesn’t get better than that when you look at the way he competes not only in wrestling but in MMA as well there’s just so much ferocity obviously it was a very physical specimen but I think more than that his mentality was Second To None I heard a Mark Schultz quote once there’s no man on Earth that can hurt me I love that mentality he absolutely uh emulated that quote in his fights coming in at number two Sarah McMahon I chose Sarah McMahon to be on my list because earning a silver medal in the Olympics is such an amazing accomplishment and I feel like she was one of the first female wrestlers to kind of bring that in how good was that every single time she competed she had a positive attitude and she gave her 100 best McMahon working hard for this takedown she gets that’s all you can really ask yourself and so that’s something I really appreciate my favorite Sarah McMahon moment had to be her UFC debut oh man you know winning in a knockout such a such an awesome accomplishment and just a really cool thing to see somebody come from the same background as me you know wrestling and reached the highest level of the sport in the UFC and being able to make her debut with a knockout very cool moment [Applause] fun it’s Henry stahuto the youngest American ever to earn a gold medal in the Olympics in Freestyle Wrestling Henry sahuto former National Champion Pan Am wrestling champion I mean he’s a spectacular wrestler there’s a lot of reasons for Henry to make my list the youngest ever American to win Olympic gold medal in wrestling such a cool thing and so being able to accomplish that I feel like earns him the number one spot looking for the takedown and there it is he’s just incredibly talented athletic and one of the highest flight IQs I believe out of anybody what he’s been able to do in inviting and and I really admire it with the amount of guys that he’s beaten and the names you know it’s just it’s pretty crazy not only to beat the guys he’s beaten but to do it across two divisions that is really impressive stuff I have a few moments that I think of that really showcased his wrestling his second fight with Demetrius Johnson being able to take at the time the power pound number one guy take him down and win a really close decision such an awesome thing and definitely huge for the sport of wrestling other moments I think of his fight with Marlon Morris he didn’t necessarily showcase his wrestling through takedowns but I think he showcased his heart his grit his toughness losing the first round and kind of getting pieced up a little bit and then just turning it on putting the pressure on the guy and being able to turn that fight around get the finish and become the 135 pound champ as well that’s it is the U.S champion two division UFC champ Olympic gold medalists that’s Triple C I’m Bo nickel thanks for taking five [Applause]