Jordan Burroughs Explains Why He Hasn’t Transitioned To MMA

Jordan BurroughsJordan Burroughs has revealed the reason he never transitioned to Mixed Martial Arts despite flirting with the idea for many years. The 32-year-old has enjoyed one of the best wrestling careers of all-time. As well as winning gold at the 2012 Olympic games he has claimed top prize at the World Championships on four separate […]

Jordan Burroughs

Jordan Burroughs has revealed the reason he never transitioned to Mixed Martial Arts despite flirting with the idea for many years.

The 32-year-old has enjoyed one of the best wrestling careers of all-time. As well as winning gold at the 2012 Olympic games he has claimed top prize at the World Championships on four separate occasions.

Speaking to UFC commentator and popular podcaster Joe Rogan, Burroughs revealed that he was seriously considering a move to MMA before meeting his wife who advised him against crossing over into a new sport.

“I’ve been close,” Burroughs said about transitioning to MMA. “Mostly the lady outside, my wife, Lauren is the one who has talked me out of it.” When I graduated from college in 2011 wrestling was in its infancy of marketing and branding and really making it a professional career. MMA was the new kid on the block, and it was growing and expanding, and we had a lot of our guys transitioning in. Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren, Daniel Cormier and so I really thought about it. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to wrestle in the Olympics in London, 2012, win the gold and the I’m going to make the transition to MMA. I’ll be 25 years old. I’ll have plenty of time and then I met Lauren and she was like, ‘listen, you’re doing well in the sport. Stay here, you are comfortable.’

All these years on and Burroughs is thankful for that advice. Especially when he watches MMA and see the immense amount of damage fighters often take.

“I think about going to MMA until I see a guy like ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry get his whole thing split, nose crooked. I’m like ‘naa I’m good’”, Burroughs said. “In wrestling if you lose you get taken down, pushed out, you get pinned. In fighting you lose you get something broken, choked out, tapped, unconscious. It’s a very different sport, wrestling is scoring as many points as possible with doing the least damage as possible. In MMA I feel like it is different.”

Do you think Jordan Burroughs would have been successful in MMA?

Ben Askren and Jordan Burroughs Exchange Shots On Social Media

Ben AskrenBen Askren has been exchanging barbs with wrestling standout Jordan Burroughs on social media. Askren despite being retired from fighting is certainly not ready to give up trash talking. The former Bellator and ONE champion is among the best talkers in the game and was forced to respond when Burroughs came at him on Twitter. […]

Ben Askren

Ben Askren has been exchanging barbs with wrestling standout Jordan Burroughs on social media.

Askren despite being retired from fighting is certainly not ready to give up trash talking. The former Bellator and ONE champion is among the best talkers in the game and was forced to respond when Burroughs came at him on Twitter.

“Hey @benaskren clearly Beat the Streets didn’t show you enough. @Kbratke tomorrow is your turn. I’ve got some extra time on my hands,” Burroughs tweeted. “Can’t wait to settle this 165 debate once and for all tomorrow on @FloWrestling Buckle up gentlemen!”

“Congrats on beating a 34 year old who hadn’t wrestled in a decade. See you in the morning dork,” Askren responded.

Jordan Burroughs and Ben Askren had a wrestling match for charity in May last year. The UFC veteran lost 11-0 but hadn’t actually wrestled in almost 10 years.  

During that time, he had become one of the best MMA fighters on the planet. ‘Funky’ went 18-0 as a professional and picked up several illustrious titles. He then joined the UFC and beat former champion Robbie Lawler and looked well on his way to becoming a champion in the sports most talent stacked promotion. However, his career was derailed by back-to-back losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia. Askren ultimately called it a day after the defeats due to persistent injury problems which had hampered his fight preparations.

The 31-year-old Burroughs is still very much entrenched in the world of wrestling. An Olympic gold medallist in 2012 he is expected to compete at the Tokyo games which has now been rescheduled to 2021. Burroughs has previously hinted once his Olympic career is over he will make the transition into MMA.

Would you like to see Ben Askren and Jordan Burroughs fight in MMA?

Jordan Burroughs Would’ve Been ‘Disappointed’ If He Didn’t Dominate Ben Askren

Jordan Burroughs is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now. He is the reigning Olympic gold medalist, and just a few weeks back he took on Ben Askren. Although the match was for charity, Burroughs made it clear he was not making this a compe…

Jordan Burroughs is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now. He is the reigning Olympic gold medalist, and just a few weeks back he took on Ben Askren. Although the match was for charity, Burroughs made it clear he was not making this a competitive match. Rather, he just wanted to show the […]

The post Jordan Burroughs Would’ve Been ‘Disappointed’ If He Didn’t Dominate Ben Askren appeared first on MMA News.

Jordan Burroughs Would’ve Been ‘Disappointed’ If He Didn’t Dominate Ben Askren

Jordan Burroughs is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now. He is the reigning Olympic gold medalist, and just a few weeks back he took on Ben Askren. Although the match was for charity, Burroughs made it clear he was not making this a compe…

Jordan Burroughs is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now. He is the reigning Olympic gold medalist, and just a few weeks back he took on Ben Askren. Although the match was for charity, Burroughs made it clear he was not making this a competitive match. Rather, he just wanted to show the […]

The post Jordan Burroughs Would’ve Been ‘Disappointed’ If He Didn’t Dominate Ben Askren appeared first on MMA News.

Jordan Burroughs Willing To Consider MMA Fight After 2020 Olympics

Jordan Burroughs has talked about competing in MMA for quite some time now. He is arguably the best wrestler in American history and just finished a clean sweep of Ben Askren at Beat the Streets. But, the question still remains of when will Burroughs m…

Jordan Burroughs has talked about competing in MMA for quite some time now. He is arguably the best wrestler in American history and just finished a clean sweep of Ben Askren at Beat the Streets. But, the question still remains of when will Burroughs make the transition to MMA? Well, according to the 30-year-old, once […]

The post Jordan Burroughs Willing To Consider MMA Fight After 2020 Olympics appeared first on MMA News.

Jordan Burroughs Praises Ben Askren Following Beat The Streets

Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs paid his respect to Ben Askren following their wrestling match at Beat The Streets. Burroughs and Askren went one-on-one in a match as part of a charity event. The showdown took place inside Madison Square Garden&…

Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs paid his respect to Ben Askren following their wrestling match at Beat The Streets. Burroughs and Askren went one-on-one in a match as part of a charity event. The showdown took place inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. In the end, Burroughs dominated the match 11-0 […]

The post Jordan Burroughs Praises Ben Askren Following Beat The Streets appeared first on MMA News.