Wrestling Underground 1 Results

Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images

Senior level freestyle and Greco-Roman competition went down in a cage for the first time this past weekend.

Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground promotion has been putting on pro grappling exhibitions for a few years now. Regional talents, major names in grappling, and even MMA fighters have highlighted these cards. Taking place under Eddie Bravo Invitational Rules and aired on UFC Fight Pass, Sonnen’s grappling shows appeal to MMA fans by holding the matches in a small cage. Competitors are allowed full use of the cage, in the same way they would do so in an MMA fight.

This past weekend, Sonnen got back to his roots with the first Wrestling Underground show in his native Oregon. The six-match card featured high-level freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling matches between World medalists, NCAA champions, and senior level contenders.

Overall Impressions

Most wrestling events are controlled by national and global governing bodies like the NCAA, USA Wrestling, and United World Wrestling. Their standards for safety at events is extremely strict, meaning wrestling competition has been scarce ever since the CoVid-19 outbreak.

The event was overwhelmingly positive – Sonnen gave high-level athletes a space to compete and earn money, in addition to potentially exposing combat sports fans to wrestling. The matches themselves were intriguing and well-wrestled, and the athletes conducted themselves with class.

There was plenty of room for improvement. The obvious issue was that there were zero women’s freestyle matches on the card. Additionally, the competition area itself was much smaller than a typical wrestling mat, and the barrier of the cage was still extremely new for most of the wrestlers involved. Given that many of the matches were at catch-weights, the setup of the event largely benefited the larger wrestlers.

On the production side, Chael Sonnen was a one-man show. He attempted to speak both to an audience that was completely new to wrestling, and to hardcore wrestling fans. He struggled to find a balanced or coherent way to do so, making the commentary messy and often confusing for many. There were no previews or recaps in-between matches, so the pacing definitely felt strange. It was Sonnen’s first attempt with this branch of his promotion, so it’s fair to expect clarity in formatting for future events.

Results and Recap

159 – Tyler Berger (Nebraska WTC) over Joey McKenna (Penn RTC) 8-2

The narrative heading into this match was pretty simple. Joey McKenna was the more credentialed, arguably more talented wrestler. A three-time All-American (3rd, 3rd, 2nd), Junior World silver medalist and U23 World bronze medalist, McKenna is a contender for the Olympic spot at 65 kg. He recently defeated two-time Cadet World champion Yianni Diakomihalis.

Berger was also a three-time All-American (5th, 3rd, 2nd), but his freestyle credentials are negligible.

The big “but” in this matchup was the weight difference. McKenna wrestled in college at 141 pounds, and in freestyle under 145. Berger was a 157-pounder his entire varsity career, and will be competing at 74 kg in freestyle – over 20 pounds heavier than McKenna’s competition weight.

Ultimately, the size was an enormous factor. Berger was able to move McKenna with his shots and break up his defense and chest wrap counter attempts against the cage. McKenna felt pressure to attack the legs fairly often, but could not build back up from underneath the larger man.

Berger called out NCAA champion Anthony Ashnault.

180 – Ben Provisor (Buffalo Valley RTC) over RaVaughn Perkins (Olympic Training Center) 10-9

The sole Greco-Roman match on the card was by far the most exciting. Competing typically around 87 kg and as high as 92 kg, Provisor has twice competed in the Olympic Games and made one World team. Perkins, whose highest and most recent competition weight was 77 kg, made the Olympic team down at 66 kg in 2016, but did not qualify the weight for competition. Perkins attended the World Championships in 2018 at 72 kg but did not place.

Typically, Provisor likes slow-paced matches where he can control the mat and force par-terre situations against his opponents. Perkins is much more offensively-minded, but his the prevailing thought was that the size difference would limit his opportunities.

Much to the wrestling community’s surprise, Perkins and Provisor willingly tied up in high risk situations and let it fly, launching each other regularly throughout the first period. This throw in particular made a big impression.

Provisor became the first wrestler on the card to deliberately use the cage when he pushed Perkins against it with his underhook, then used the position to cinch up a bodylock before throwing.

Both men prioritized excitement and did a great service for the sport of Greco-Roman wrestling.

190 – Sammy Brooks (Hawkeye WC) over Shakur Rasheed (Nittany Lion WC) 8-6

According to Chael Sonnen, Dana White (who allegedly approves these cards?) was sold on this matchup on the “Iowa vs. Penn State” angle alone.

Sammy Brooks was a perfect soldier for the University of Iowa, starting for three years at 184 pounds where he placed 8th and 4th in his final two years, along with a Big Ten conference championship.

Rasheed was fairly enigmatic, generating a lot of buzz early on his career, but he struggled with consistency. This was partly due to massive weight cuts to 165 and 174 pounds. When Rasheed finally moved up to 197 in his redshirt sophomore year, he was on-point, winning his way to a 7th place finish at NCAAs. Injuries and CoVid-19 disrupted his subsequent seasons, but Rasheed has always been a “what-if” wrestler for Penn State fans.

He ignited those hopes again early on against Brooks, shooting a high volume of single legs and using his height to elevate the leg for several finishes. He did not gas outright, but the heavy handfighting and pressure of Brooks wore him down, and the Hawkeye came back strong to win.

Brooks was the second to use the cage strategically on this card – he moved Rasheed to the cage in a standing front-headlock position, used it to straighten him up, then dropped off to the double leg and pulled back for the finish when Rasheed stood tall. It was clear that Brooks had studied cage wrestling tactics.

213 – Kollin Moore (Ohio RTC) over Deron Winn (American Kickboxing Academy) 7-0

This was likely a bit of a token match for MMA fans, but that doesn’t mean Deron Winn didn’t belong on the card. Wrestling outside of Division 1, Winn wasn’t a known commodity in college, but he made his name in freestyle. In the past decade, Winn has placed top 4 numerous times at the World Team Trials and US Open, even making a national team in 2018 at 97 kg. Winn was always extremely short for his weight classes and likely could have competed much lower, making his accomplishments even more impressive. He notched wins over big names like J’den Cox (in 2014) and Pat Downey before starting his MMA career.

Ohio State’s Kollin Moore fits the blue-chip mold. A 2017 Junior World bronze medalist and 2018 U23 World silver medalist, Moore went on to become a three-time All-American in his first three seasons (3rd, 4th, 2nd). Moore’s senior year was cut short due to CoVid-19, but he held a #1 ranking and an undefeated record on the season. It is extremely likely he would have won an NCAA title in March.

This was one of the least competitive matches on the card. Winn had no way to move Moore out of his stance to set up his explosive leg attacks, and Moore had little issue creating openings against Winn. Moore looked slick, hitting misdirection shots and playing with tension to score big on the UFC fighter.

185 – David McFadden (Penn RTC) over Tommy Gantt (Wolfpack RTC) 8-4

This match was originally supposed to feature three-time World champion (one Cadet, two Junior) and NCAA champion Mark Hall, but injuries forced him off the card on short notice. His Penn RTC teammate David McFadden, a three-time All-American for Virginia Tech (6th, 5th, 5th) who lost his senior season to CoVid-19.

He took on NC State grad Tommy Gantt, a multiple time NCAA qualifier in college who has been a bit of a late bloomer. While he was certainly tough before, Gantt jumped levels after graduation, winning the Bill Farrell Memorial International freestyle tournament in 2018 over veterans like Dan Vallimont and two-time Olympian Franklin Gomez. Gantt has been a medal contender at solid international tournaments ever since.

Coming in on short notice, McFadden was extremely impressive with his mobility, volume, and gas tank. He took the match to the more experienced wrestler and appeared to be too much physically for Gantt. The small cage likely favored the aggression of McFadden, it was a huge win for his career after a rough stretch at the end of his senior year.

265 – Nick Gwiazdowski (Wolfpack RTC) over Kyven Gadson (Cyclone RTC) 10-0

The main event featured two of the biggest names on the card, but the matchup itself wasn’t especially compelling for many.

Nick Gwiazdowski has won two World bronze medals at the senior level for the United States, and is holding down the starting spot at heavyweight. He most recently fended off the phenom Gable Steveson and cemented his hold over the weight. Gwiazdowski was a two-time NCAA champion for NC State, knocking off a defending two-time NCAA champion in Tony Nelson for his first title victory, and losing only to the great Kyle Snyder in his senior year.

Gadson, on the other hand, was a three-time All-American for Iowa State and a national champion in his senior year, pinning a freshman Kyle Snyder in the first period. (Read up on Kyven Gadson’s NCAA title-winning throw here!)

Gadson has been active in freestyle since the end of his collegiate career, but Kyle Snyder’s domestic dominance at 97 kg has kept him from making a larger impact.

The first factor that loomed over this match was the size difference. While Gwiazdowski isn’t a huge heavyweight (the international limit is 285), he could never make 97 kg. Gadson was a career 197-pounder at Iowa State, and a decent sized 97 kg. In a small cage, the odds were already against him.

Looking at the match stylistically, it did not bode well for Gadson. Despite being larger, Gwiazdowski is actually the more active wrestler, shooting a high volume of single legs and running his feet well to finish. Gadson prefers to play with pace, slowing matches down before finding his moments to change speeds and make his move.

One recurring issue for Gwiazdowski has been getting stuck underneath massive heavyweights on his head-inside singles, but that was not a factor against Gadson. He shot to his heart’s content and had no problem controlling the space of the cage. It was nice to see both men back in competition, but it was a rather unceremonious end to the night.

You can watch live wrestling again on September 17th, and then soon after on September 19th! FloWrestling is streaming this year’s Beat the Streets exhibition (matches TBA), while Rokfin will be making their streaming debut with a stacked card hosted by the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

The matches include Bo Nickal vs. Alex Dieringer, Kyle Snyder vs. Mike Macchiavello. Jason Nolf vs. David McFadden, Zain Retherford vs. Alec Pantaleo, Thomas Gilman vs. Darian Cruz, Greg Kirkvliet vs. Youssif Hemida, Nick Nevills vs. Jordan Wood, Jennifer Page vs. Desiree Zavala, Jane Valencia vs. Lauren Louive, Vincenzo Joseph vs. TBA, Bekzod Abdurakhmonov vs. TBA, Malik Amine vs. TBA, Domenic Abounader vs. TBA.

I’m looking forward to the rematch between Darian Cruz and Thomas Gilman. Check out my breakdown on their dramatic match in the NCAA semifinals.