Tag: Wrestling

Wrestling Voted Back into the Olympics for 2020 and 2024 Games

Seven months after the International Olympic Committee decided that wrestling should be removed from the Games starting in 2020, the sport was voted back in during a meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday. The vote was held by the committee to allow one final sport to be included in the 2020 Games. Wrestling […]

Seven months after the International Olympic Committee decided that wrestling should be removed from the Games starting in 2020, the sport was voted back in during a meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday. The vote was held by the committee to allow one final sport to be included in the 2020 Games. Wrestling […]

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[EXCLUSIVE] Clay Guida: The Talent of Hard Work

Clay Guida UFC
(Photo via, you guessed it, Heavy.com)

By Elias Cepeda

Whether or not he’ll admit it, Clay Guida hates being an underdog. It isn’t that the featherweight doesn’t enjoy proving people wrong – he does.

It’s the underestimation that bothers him. Most of his UFC wins have come over opponents who were favored over him before he broke them down and beat them. Even before his UFC career began back in 2006, Guida’s opponents were regularly favored over him.

The assumption that he is an “over-achiever” that has to defy our low expectations just to win smacks Guida like a backhanded compliment time and time again. He’s too polite to get visibly angry when the term has been brought up but in the past, but he’s made it clear to this writer that he doesn’t think of himself in that way. After about a decade of “over-achieving,” Clay would prefer if we simply started referring to him as the elite MMA fighter he truly is. On Saturday, Guida will once again be considered the underdog when he fights former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes.

Like Guida, Mendes is a wrestler, but he is a more decorated amateur one. Like Guida, Mendes is happy to go wild and throw strikes on the feet, but the Californian has been putting people out with his shots. Both men are obviously in the same weight class, but Mendes would appear to be the more physically imposing, stronger fighter.

Mendes’ only career loss was a shocking one to division champion Jose Aldo. Since that fight, Mendes has won three straight fights by knockout. At some point, in some way, every successful fighter must be a giant in his or her own mind. And in his mind, Guida is the clear favorite in his UFC 164 match up with Mendes.

“Chad is a great wrestler,” Clay admits to me one afternoon a month ago from his New Mexico training camp.

“But we are going to show him what Midwest wrestling is all about. It is a whole different beast. It is just scraping, driving non-stop, relentless and winning scrambles.”

By Elias Cepeda

Whether or not he’ll admit it, Clay Guida hates being an underdog. It isn’t that the featherweight doesn’t enjoy proving people wrong – he does.

It’s the underestimation that bothers him. Most of his UFC wins have come over opponents who were favored over him before he broke them down and beat them. Even before his UFC career began back in 2006, Guida’s opponents were regularly favored over him.

The assumption that he is an “over-achiever” that has to defy our low expectations just to win smacks Guida like a backhanded compliment time and time again. He’s too polite to get visibly angry when the term has been brought up but in the past, but he’s made it clear to this writer that he doesn’t think of himself in that way. After about a decade of “over-achieving,” Clay would prefer if we simply started referring to him as the elite MMA fighter he truly is. On Saturday, Guida will once again be considered the underdog when he fights former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes.

Like Guida, Mendes is a wrestler, but he is a more decorated amateur one. Like Guida, Mendes is happy to go wild and throw strikes on the feet, but the Californian has been putting people out with his shots. Both men are obviously in the same weight class, but Mendes would appear to be the more physically imposing, stronger fighter.

Mendes’ only career loss was a shocking one to division champion Jose Aldo. Since that fight, Mendes has won three straight fights by knockout. At some point, in some way, every successful fighter must be a giant in his or her own mind. And in his mind, Guida is the clear favorite in his UFC 164 match up with Mendes.

“Chad is a great wrestler,” Clay admits to me one afternoon a month ago from his New Mexico training camp.

“But we are going to show him what Midwest wrestling is all about. It is a whole different beast. It is just scraping, driving non-stop, relentless and winning scrambles.”

As for Mendes’ new found punching power and impressive streak of recent knockouts? Guida gives credit to Chad, whom he counts as a friend, but isn’t as impressed with Mendes’ recent opponents.

“Lately he has shown power but we are going to show him what it is like to fight a top fighter,” the Team Jackson/Winkeljohn stable member says.

Toughness. Toughness to grit out tiring scrambles on the mat, toughness to withstand shots on the feet and the toughness to stand up and fight effectively against the best  – the Gray Maynards, Benson Hendersons and Nate Diazs of the world.

When it comes down to it, Guida’s confidence always seems to stem directly from the idea that he is simply tougher than his opponent and gone through tougher tests. That he was tougher in the training room, went to lengths that his opponent would not and so that, even though on paper his foe might hold multiple advantages, come game time, “The Carpenter” will out work and beat him.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said that “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” There’s little doubt that Guida would agree with the Bulldog there.

Pundits are always talking about the talents of his opponents and Guida’s workman-like effort, as if a commitment to the latter couldn’t be an example of the former. Guida will fight in what will likely essentially be a hometown crowd in Milwaukee this Saturday at UFC 164, which has only motivated him all the more.

The leader of the “Guida Mafia” says he can’t wait to fight in front of his friends and family as he did last January in Chicago’s United Center. In his mind, Guida is the heavy favorite over Mendes and he’s sure to put forward a winning effort for his fans.

“I can’t wait. This is a great opportunity for me to climb the ladder. That’s the only reason I’m here – to win the featherweight championship,” he says.

The ability to push oneself mentally and physically, the ability to outwork everyone in the gym and cage, is a talent to Clay Guida. When it comes down to it, it is the only talent that he respects.

So, despite being a perpetual underdog to the rest of the world, in his mind, Guida is the most talented fighter in the world. And with talent like that, it is little wonder that he believes he’ll eventually become the best fighter in his division.

And Now, The Greatest Victory Celebration in Azerbaijani Wrestling History [VIDEO]

(Props: AZWrestling1993 via Deadspin)

His name…is Rasul. His passion…is DANCE.

The video above was captured earlier this week at the Summer Universiade athletic competition in Kazan, Russia, where Azerbaijani wrestler Rasul Chunayev defeated his Russian opponent Islam-Beka Albiev for the 66-kg gold-medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. And my goodness, what an excited young man. MMA victory dancers, it’s time to step up your game.

After the jump: Meanwhile in the 60-kg division, Russian wrestler Bekkhan Goygereev pulls off one of the most incredible escapes you’ll ever see.


(Props: AZWrestling1993 via Deadspin)

His name…is Rasul. His passion…is DANCE.

The video above was captured earlier this week at the Summer Universiade athletic competition in Kazan, Russia, where Azerbaijani wrestler Rasul Chunayev defeated his Russian opponent Islam-Beka Albiev for the 66-kg gold-medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. And my goodness, what an excited young man. MMA victory dancers, it’s time to step up your game.

After the jump: Meanwhile in the 60-kg division, Russian wrestler Bekkhan Goygereev pulls off one of the most incredible escapes you’ll ever see.


(Props: 101greatgoalsFan2)

5 Misconceptions MMA Fans Have About Professional Wrestling

The connection between MMA and pro wrestling is something that most fans of mixed martial arts seem reluctant to acknowledge. As something of a masochist, I spend more time than I should reading comments sections of MMA websites. One thing I’ve noticed from this ceaselessly exasperating pastime is that stories even tangentially related to pro […]

The connection between MMA and pro wrestling is something that most fans of mixed martial arts seem reluctant to acknowledge. As something of a masochist, I spend more time than I should reading comments sections of MMA websites. One thing I’ve noticed from this ceaselessly exasperating pastime is that stories even tangentially related to pro […]

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Hope Is Not Lost: IOC Recommends Wrestling for Inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games


(Photo courtesy of Wrestlingisbest.tumblr)

Not to get your hopes up too much, Nation, but in a vote held yesterday in St. Petersburg, Russia, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) recommended three sports for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games: Baseball/Softball, Squash, and Wrestling, the latter of which was unjustly pulled from the games in February. While wrestling finds itself against some stiff competition (in baseball/softball at least, squash is right up there with handball in terms of asinine Olympic sports), this still represents a major hurdle being cleared in the race to save the foundational Olympic sport.

The international governing body (FILA) President, Nenad Lalovic, along with former Olympic wrestlers Jim Scherr (U.S.), Lise Legrand (France), Carol Huynh (Canada), and Daniel Igali (Nigeria) were chosen to plead wrestling’s case to the IOC yesterday. In a pre-written statement, Lalovic continued to push the idea that an MMA-style reformation would successfully draw in a wider audience for the struggling sport, and claimed that it was in fact already underway:

While our place in the Olympic Games is still not guaranteed, this decision recognizes the great lengths to which we are going to reform our sport and address the IOC’s concerns.

At FILA’s recent Extraordinary Congress we enacted a number of rule and governance changes and we hope that our continued efforts will ensure we are successful at the final vote in September. We recognize that there is still a long road ahead but we will continue to work to preserve our place in the Olympic Games. 

The final vote to decide which sport will be included in the 2020 games will be held in Buenos Aries, Argentina in September. In the meantime, we have an obligation, nay, a DUTY to do everything within our power to discredit baseball as a sport. So…PETE ROSE MARK MCGWIRE BARRY BONDS 1919 WORLD SERIES JOSE FUCKING CANSECO.

–J. Jones


(Photo courtesy of Wrestlingisbest.tumblr)

Not to get your hopes up too much, Nation, but in a vote held yesterday in St. Petersburg, Russia, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) recommended three sports for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games: Baseball/Softball, Squash, and Wrestling, the latter of which was unjustly pulled from the games in February. While wrestling finds itself against some stiff competition (in baseball/softball at least, squash is right up there with handball in terms of asinine Olympic sports), this still represents a major hurdle being cleared in the race to save the foundational Olympic sport.

The international governing body (FILA) President, Nenad Lalovic, along with former Olympic wrestlers Jim Scherr (U.S.), Lise Legrand (France), Carol Huynh (Canada), and Daniel Igali (Nigeria) were chosen to plead wrestling’s case to the IOC yesterday. In a pre-written statement, Lalovic continued to push the idea that an MMA-style reformation would successfully draw in a wider audience for the struggling sport, and claimed that it was in fact already underway:

While our place in the Olympic Games is still not guaranteed, this decision recognizes the great lengths to which we are going to reform our sport and address the IOC’s concerns.

At FILA’s recent Extraordinary Congress we enacted a number of rule and governance changes and we hope that our continued efforts will ensure we are successful at the final vote in September. We recognize that there is still a long road ahead but we will continue to work to preserve our place in the Olympic Games. 

The final vote to decide which sport will be included in the 2020 games will be held in Buenos Aries, Argentina in September. In the meantime, we have an obligation, nay, a DUTY to do everything within our power to discredit baseball as a sport. So…PETE ROSE MARK MCGWIRE BARRY BONDS 1919 WORLD SERIES JOSE FUCKING CANSECO.

–J. Jones

Is an MMA-Style Transformation the Only Thing That Can Save Wrestling From Its Slow Demise?


(Unfortunately, scribed just below this sculpture were a series of hateful, anonymous comments telling these “pussies” to, among other things, “Quit lay-n-praying and knock a motherfucker out.”) 

Following the sport’s shocking removal from the 2020 Olympic games, the wrestling community has called upon every conceivable resource in an attempt to restore the sport’s reputation amongst casual fans and potentially introduce it to even more. Sadly, us history buffs have thus far failed to sway the group of geniuses who declared handball and all that horse-related bullshit as sports more worthy of our viewership from reverting on their monumental mistake. But now, it appears that the International Federation for Wrestling has decided to follow our beloved sport into the fire in a last ditch attempt to save their own. USA Today has the scoop (via MMAJunkie):

“We have to think about how to make a show because without that today, it’s difficult,” FILA acting president Nenad Lalovic told USA TODAY Sports.

Former world champion Bill Scherr, chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling, has met with UFC chief executive Dana White and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. MMA stars and officials have been very supportive of wrestling’s efforts. Scherr said his sport can learn about presentation from the MMA world. “We need to think about ways to change how the stage is presented,” Scherr said. “They compete in an octagon and we compete on a mat. We don’t have to compete on a mat. We can compete in sand, we can compete in grass and we can compete on a mat or an octagon. I don’t know. We can get survey groups together and see what looks best.”

There you have it, Potato Nation: Goodbye USA Wrestling. Hello SandFC!


(Unfortunately, scribed just below this sculpture were a series of hateful, anonymous comments telling these “pussies” to, among other things, “Quit lay-n-praying and knock a motherfucker out.”) 

Following the sport’s shocking removal from the 2020 Olympic games, the wrestling community has called upon every conceivable resource in an attempt to restore the sport’s reputation amongst casual fans and potentially introduce it to even more. Sadly, us history buffs have thus far failed to sway the group of geniuses who declared handball and all that horse-related bullshit as sports more worthy of our viewership from reverting on their monumental mistake. But now, it appears that the International Federation for Wrestling has decided to follow our beloved sport into the fire in a last ditch attempt to save their own. USA Today has the scoop (via MMAJunkie):

“We have to think about how to make a show because without that today, it’s difficult,” FILA acting president Nenad Lalovic told USA TODAY Sports.

Former world champion Bill Scherr, chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling, has met with UFC chief executive Dana White and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. MMA stars and officials have been very supportive of wrestling’s efforts. Scherr said his sport can learn about presentation from the MMA world. “We need to think about ways to change how the stage is presented,” Scherr said. “They compete in an octagon and we compete on a mat. We don’t have to compete on a mat. We can compete in sand, we can compete in grass and we can compete on a mat or an octagon. I don’t know. We can get survey groups together and see what looks best.”

There you have it, Potato Nation: Goodbye USA Wrestling. Hello SandFC!

Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs has also rallied behind the cause, declaring that “face-offs” could also add to the “showmanship” aspect of the sport, and it is here that we run into the fundamental flaw with this cause. While showmanship has surely been at least partially responsible for the UFC’s rise to greatness, the sport itself is what has kept fans tuning in.

Let’s play the role of “casual fan” for a minute (*chugs three Red Bull & Vodkas, paints “Just Bleed” on chest*). Wrestling is without a doubt the most despised and ridiculed aspect in all of mixed martial arts, often reduced to such phrases as “lay-n-pray,” “wall-n-stall,” and “guys rolling around like homosexuals on the ground.” The bar for what constitutes violence worthy of our attention has simply been raised too high, dammit (*directs you to the Mexican cartel decapitation video*) and MMA is partially to blame. Does anyone think splitting wrestler’s singlets into three-pieces, holding staged weigh-ins, or changing the surface upon which they battle will do anything to alter the public’s perception of the sport in general? Believe us, there is nothing more disheartening than watching two guys put on a subpar grappling display in someone’s lawn.

To switch back to the role of us “learned fans,” it’s hard to deny that the sport is in need of some vamping up if it hopes to bring back the audience it once had, and turning to the UFC/Bellator for advice is better than simply doing nothing in this regard (although Bjorn’s advice that all future wrestling events be held on Indian reservations seemed a little outlandish). Like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, if you are not familiar with the intricacies of wrestling, it can often make for a pretty tepid viewing experience. The UFC, however, has been able to both successfully enlighten fans to this discipline and educate them on said intricacies while simultaneously entertaining them. Hell, it was *the* reason the promotion was created in the first place, so who better to help the sport of wrestling rise from its own ashes?

The question now becomes: What else can wrestling do to stir up a similar interest level?

All of these issues will hopefully be addressed on May 29th in St. Petersburg, Russia, when the sport’s possible inclusion in the 2020 games is reviewed by the IOC. After wrestling (and seven other sports also recently cut from the Olympics) makes its case, the board is expected to recommend three sports for inclusion, with the final decision being handed down in September.

Additionally, FILA is planning to move forward with several proposed changes to the sport that go beyond the surface level:

“We have to make the sport more watchable and understandable for fans, otherwise we cannot acquire more fans,” Lalovic said.

Lalovic also said the sport will add two weight classes in women’s wrestling and eliminate one each in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. Each discipline will have six weight classes. 

“And if that doesn’t work out,” Lalovic later added in a fake interview, “We’re booking Canseco vs. O’Neal in a levitation chamber, because society is f*cking disintegrating.”

–J. Jones