The Top 5 USA Freestyle Wrestlers at 97 KG

I went to the UWW Freestyle World Cup in Iowa City, and it was awesome. In fact, it got me so amped up that I'm going to be coming at you with a bunch of wrestling content. I'm ranking the top five guys at every weight class, and today we move on to 97 KG (approximately 214 pounds). Let's get to it.

5. Kollin Moore
Moore probably isn't ready for the senior level, since he wasn't ready for the NCAA Tournament this year where he got blitzed by Kyle Conel, an unknown out of Kent State, twice. But nobody wants to wrestle 97 KG for the USA right now, because they know there ain't no way in hell they're going to win it. I had to put someone here.

4. Nathan Burak
Burak did beat the number one guy at this weight back in college in one of the weirder matches I can remember, but he ain't ever beating that guy again. As a former Hawkeye, I wish him nothing but the best, but his best would be a second place finish at this weight.

3. Ty Walz
Ty Walz was a college heavyweight who has trimmed down to try his luck at 97 KG. He's definitely tough, and he is a contender to make the Finals at this weight, but he's not winning it.

2. Kyven Gadson
Gadson is the second best option at 97 KG, and he did get a huge win over the number one guy in college. But things have greatly changed since then as even though Gadson has gotten better. The number one guy on this list has turned into the greatest wrestler in the world, possibly at any weight class.

1. Kyle Snyder
Yeah, ain't nobody stopping Kyle Snyder from representing the United States at this weight. Not only that, but he'll go in as the overwhelming favorite to win the World Championships at 97 KG this year. That doesn't mean he is completely unbeatable, but he's as close to unbeatable as we're going to see at any weight class in the world. Here's the thing, it's not like Snyder is going to go through and tech fall everybody and dominate; that's not his game. Snyder doesn't blast doubles like Burroughs, and he can give up takedowns on occasion. But Snyder is absolutely relentless. Nobody at his size can put on the pace that he generates for six minutes, and he just eventually wears guys out. He's not Freddy Krueger with flashy slashing kills; he is Jason Voorhees, stalking his prey and overwhelming them when they finally wear out. It's incredible, and you should seek out any opportunity to watch him as he is on the path to becoming the greatest American wrestler ever.

Previous Entries:

57 KG

61 KG

65 KG

70 KG

74 KG

79 KG

86 KG

92 KG

The 10 Can't Miss Fights This Weekend

Fight fans, rejoice! We have a great weekend of combat sports action this weekend as Bellator is putting on a feature card, the UFC is putting up a pay per view with two title fights, and there is an Iowa/Ohio State wrestling meet, what more could you want? I am going to go through the top ten contests that you don't want to miss this weekend.

10. NCAA Wrestling - Sam Stoll vs. Kyle Snyder
This isn't going to necessarily be a good match. I mean, I love Sam Stoll, but Kyle Snyder isn't just the best heavyweight in the NCAA, he's got a pretty damn strong case that he's the best wrestler, at any weight, in the world. So even if this isn't going to be competitive, take advantage of being able to see Kyle Snyder wrestle. He's on his way to possibly becoming the greatest American wrestler ever. That's not hyperbole, even if he has a little ways to go; nobody has done what Snyder has accomplished at just 22 years old. Treat yourself and check him out this weekend.

9. Bellator - Michael Chandler vs. Goiti Yamauchi
This match probably isn't going to be a whole lot more competitive than the one above, but Michael Chandler is somebody you don't want to miss. Since he has never fought in the UFC, he isn't a name brand lightweight, but he can compete with the best, and he does it in a fast-paced, extremely entertaining way. His two fights against former UFC Champion, Eddie Alvarez, are some of the best of all time. He's attempting to bounce back from a weird upset loss to Brett Primus where he took a low kick and lost feeling in his foot, and he'll do so against Goiti Yamauchi. This doesn't appear to be a great matchup for Yamauchi as he is a submission specialist, and considering Chandler's background as a wrestler, I don't know how he's going to get this match to the ground. This appears to be a showcase fight for Chandler, so sit back and enjoy the show.

8. Bellator - Aaron Pico vs. Shane "The War Rhino" Kruchten
Aaron Pico is the greatest mixed martial arts prospect in history. He is an elite level freestyle wrestler who has trained in striking since he was a small child. He's built to have no weaknesses, and yet, he got upset in his very first fight against a much more experienced pro. He bounced back in his second, and I think he continues to rise against Kruchten. The War Rhino is a solid all-around fighter, but that just means that Pico is likely better in every way. Pico should hammer him, and do it fairly quickly, but it's still fun to see a young prodigy master his craft.

7. NCAA Wrestling - Michael Kemerer vs. Micah Jordan
These two will battle it out at 157. Kemerer is currently ranked second and Jordan is sixth. I think those rankings hold, but it will be good to see Kemerer get some competition as he has streamrolled just about everybody but Josh Shields in the Midlands Finals. Kemerer has certainly improved this year, so if he puts up big points in this match, it might be a sign that he has closed the gap between himself and #1 ranked, Jason Nolf.

6. Bellator - Rory MacDonald vs. Douglas Lima
This is just a good Welterweight fight for the Bellator title. Douglas Lima is another underrated Bellator fighter, as he has only lost twice in the last eight years. Once was to Andrey Koreshkov, a loss he avenged by knocking him out in their next fight, and once to Ben Askren who just retired lat month with an undefeated record. Rory MacDonald had a different path as he spent the majority of his career in the UFC, including a win over current champion, Tyron Woodley. After a long layoff, he was dominant in his first fight in Bellator where he overwhelmed Paul Daley. This will be an interesting fight to see if Lima is truly a great welterweight, or if MacDonald is going to steamroll everything in his path at Bellator.

5. Bellator - Chael Sonnen vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Okay, so I know this fight is not nearly as good as the one above it, but I'm a sucker for nostalgia, and even if it can't bring skill, at least it will have plenty of nostalgia. Neither guy has had a quality win in years. At best, they have beaten some has beens, which is good, because that means either man can get the win here. It will honestly come down to who gives slightly more of a shit at this point in their career. Chael Sonnen at least seemed mildly motivated in his win over Wanderlei Silva, and that should be enough to get the win. I could definitely see Rampage coming to the weigh in at 250 pounds since this is the first fight in Bellator's Heavyweight Tournament. It won't be pretty, but I'll definitely be watching.

4. NCAA Wrestling - Pat Downey III vs. Myles Martin
First, the Hawkeyes decided to #FreeTheLee; now it is time to #FreeTheThree. This one is still speculative as everybody seems to think Downey will wrestle for Iowa, but Tom Brands said he wasn't even supposed to talk about Downey yet. If he does, he instantly becomes one of the top contenders at 184, so I really hope that he is able to make his debut this weekend. Downey is currently at his third D-I school so his college experience hasn't been the smoothest thing ever, but when he does wrestle, it's usually pretty damn good. Martin has been fantastic this season (ranked second at 184), but he has a history of running hot and cold, and if he's cold for this match, Downey can definitely pull off the huge win, even with him not competing since the US Freestyle trials this past summer. Free The Three.

3. UFC - Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Oezdemir brings in a 15-1 recored to take on the champion, but I am just not sold on this guy as a contender. He has only had three fights in the UFC. One was a split decision against Ovince St. Preux, followed by two knockouts against Misha Cirkunov and Jimi Manuwa. OSP is now down at 185 since he never had a really impressive win at 205; Cirkunov looks great but could get knocked out by a feather, and yeah, I'll admit it, the Manuwa knockout was impressive. But Cormier seems to be a nightmare for Oezdemir. Oezdemir's one loss was to Kelly Anundson, who was a squat light heavyweight who was able to take him down and submit him. To call Anundson a poor man's Daniel Cormier may be the greatest compliment Anundson has ever received. He is a very, very...very poor man's Daniel Cormier. I think Cormier continually takes him down and just beats on Oezdemir as he pleases.

2. UFC - Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
It's too massive heavyweights that throw bombs. Every one of Ngannou's finishes have been by stoppage, and Miocic has knocked out his last five opponents. I have no idea what's going to happen as both dudes have looked pretty damn unstoppable, but I am guessing that one of them is going to be stopped very violently.

1. NCAA Wrestling - Spencer Lee vs. Nathan Tomasello
I know what you're thinking, "Durr, this is stupid NCAA wrestling, how could you say this is a better fight than a heavyweight title fight where both guys have knockout power, durr." I know that folkstyle wrestling is not the most popular sport in the USA...yet, but just trust me on this. Tomasello just returned this month, and he put a major decision on a top-5 guy in one of his first matches back. Spencer Lee is one of the best wrestling prospects ever, and he tech falled a top-10 guy less than a month ago. Both of these guys are going to bring it, and I know I'm an extreme homer, but Spencer Lee has the tools to win this match. He has already shown that he is hell on top of guys, and he's pretty damn good on his feet as well. Tomasello has already won a National Title, and that's why he's the favorite to do it again. No matter who comes out on top, this probably won't be the last time these two see each other this season. I can't wait.

Ranking Each Number One Seed's Championship Chances at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament

It's the most wonderful sports weekend of the year. Starting on Thursday, all eyes will be towards the sports world. Fans will fill out their brackets and hope that this is the year that they win their office pool. And after three days of amazing action, on Sunday you can rest and watch basketball, because the NCAA Wrestling Tournament is here. March Matness is the only thing that matters this weekend, so do yourself a favor and tune into as much as you can.

With that, I wanted to look at all of the number one seeds and rank who has the best and worst chances of being atop the podium on Saturday night.

10. Zahid Valencia - Arizona State - 174
Valencia has had an incredible freshman season, as he has worked his way through everyone that stood in his path to an undefeated record. He faced some solid competition but almost completely avoided the Big Ten, and I believe that is where he will struggle in this tournament. As a number one seed, it's close to impossible to see them lose one of their first two matchups, and Valencia should cruise through those. I believe he'll have to get through Miles Amine in the Quarterfinals, who he did beat by a single point earlier in the season, and Amine has seemed to improve by leaps and bounds since then. After that, he either gets Zach Epperly of Virginia Tech or super Freshman, Mark Hall. I think it'll be the latter, and I significantly favor Hall in that match. His offense has just been incredible, and you could make a pretty strong argument that he outwrestled Bo Jordan in the B1G finals through seven minutes but wasn't able to get the win. After that, I think Bo Jordan comes out of the bottom half of the bracket, but Realbuto is funky enough to give anyone troubles. Still, I just don't see how Valencia gets through all of these landmines to win a championship. But the good news is he's only a freshman, so he'll still have plenty of time to end up as a champion.

9. Dean Heil - Oklahoma State - 141
I'm a Dean Heil hater. I wrote this article last year, and he ranked tenth, but he managed to still win the National Title, so this year he moves all the way up to the nine spot. The guy wrestles way too many close matches to consistently come out on top, but he does manage to always come out on top. I'm still predicting that to end at the NCAA Tournament. He's a tough guy to score on, but I refuse to believe he's going back-to-back this year. Although I have trouble not seeing him in the semifinals, I see him having a tough time getting past Matthew Kolodzik or Anthony Ashnault, especially since the latter is wrestling better than he ever has before. I like Ashnault a lot in this tournament and would bet on him to beat Heil this year, but even if he makes it to the finals, a matchup with Kevin Jack or Joey McKenna awaits him. Honestly, there isn't much separating the top five guys at this weight. Last year, Heil managed to work his way through to a title; I don't see him repeating the feat.

8. Nathan Tomasello - Ohio State - 133
Tomasello's a stud, but 133 is absolutely stacked this year. It's either this weight or the next one I'm going to talk about for the toughest weight class in college wrestling. Tomasello will cruise through his first two opponents, but things start to get very interesting in the quarterfinals. Zane Richards is a tough guy who was looked at as a top-five guy entering this year. I do think Tomasello can take care of business there, but things get very interesting in the semifinals where he is likely to take on Cory Clark or Stevan Micic. He barely beat Micic 6-5 at the Big Ten Tournament, and that is a guy who has gotten a ton better as the year has gone on. I'm still hoping it's Clark he's going to see, and Tomasello won by a literal last second escape (and was helped by getting a point for an illegal move as well). I think it was a learning experience for Clark, and I think Tomasello is in serious trouble if Clark gets past Micic. Then you have the bottom half of the bracket that is led by Seth Gross and Kaid Brock, two guys who can absolutely put up points, and even they have to get through Eric Montoya and Dom Forys just to get there. Tomasello could beat any of these guys, but it's going to be tough to beat all of them, and I just don't see him doing it this year.

7. Gabe Dean - Cornell - 184
On talent and resume, Gabe Dean should definitely be higher on this list. I know that, you know that, we all know that. But 184 has a legitimate claim at being the toughest weight class in college wrestling this year. There are just so many landmines at this weight class. I mean, yes, Dean is cruising through his first two opponents, but then he likely gets Nate Jackson of Indiana or Jack Dechow of Old Dominion, both of who are tough guys. Then he will likely get Zach Zavatsky (I'm not a believer in Nolan Boyd) who is another legitimate challenger. Those guys are all tough, but Dean has faced tough guy after tough guy and almost always comes out on top. I have trouble seeing him not make the Finals, but then he goes up against either Sammy Brooks or Bo Nickal. Bo Nickal may have the most fun offensive moveset in college wrestling, as the guy is always looking for a huge move. He has the ability to hit it on anybody, and that include Gabe Dean. But don't sleep on Brooks who wrestled Dean tight two years ago and is wrestling better than he has ever wrestled right now. Dean is the best guy at this weight, but with the competition that he is going to have to go through, it is far from a guarantee that he ends up on top of the podium.

6. Thomas Gilman - Iowa - 125
Is there some Hawkeye bias here? Maybe, but who exactly is he going to lose to before the finals? He's basically dominated every opponent he's had outside of Nick Suriano, who is both injured and on the other side of the bracket. He's beaten just about every guy on his side of the bracket, and with the way he's wrestling this year, it seems highly unlikely that anyone is going to rise up and take him out. So that leads him to a relatively easy path with a likely matchup against Suriano or Joey Dance from Virginia Tech. Suriano is hurt, and I really don't think he's going to be able to make an impact on a bum ankle. He's 1-1 against Dance, but they wrestled both of those matches two seasons ago. Both have gotten better since then, but Dance is only very good where Gilman is an absolute dominator on the mat these days. I think Gilman finds his way through the bracket to become the Hawkeyes first National Champion since Tony Ramos.

5. Isaiah Martinez - Illinois - 165
Isaiah Martinez is going for his third national title in three years, this time up a weight at 165. Although there are some tough guys at 165, Martinez is still the clear favorite. He's going to cruise to the semifinals where a likely matchup with Isaac Jordan awaits. Jordan is always rock solid in his wrestling, but I just don't think he has the offense to truly threaten Martinez. The most interesting matchup lies in the finals where he will take on Logan Massa. Outside of getting hit with a six-point move in the Big Ten Tournament, Massa has wrestled Martinez tough, but I have a tough time seeing anyone stop Martinez from a threepeat.

4. J'Den Cox - Missouri - 197
Originally, I had Martinez ahead of J'Den Cox, but then I got to looking at things, and then I thought about some things and decided it's really hard to put the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist lower than this. He's wrestled against the #2, #3, and #4 ranked wrestlers and beaten them all. Yes, they have been relatively close as he's won each match by two points, but he's winning, and he's super good. Also, this weight isn't that strong past Cox. Kollin Moore and Brett Pfarr are both good enough to push Cox in the Finals, but third best in the world almost definitely means that he's the best in the NCAA.

3. Zain Retherford - Penn State - 149
I could probably just say, "Ain't nobody stopping the Zain Train," and call it a day, but what fun would that be? There are two interesting matchups for him. One with Brandon Sorensen, who he beat 9-8 after having an advantage in riding time in the second tiebreaker, and Anthony Collica, who he only beat 2-1 in their match late in the season. Those were his only two decision wins, and honestly, I still wouldn't be surprised if those remained his only two decision wins this year, as I could easily see him storming through everyone in the tournament. As a Hawkeye fan, I'd love to pick Sorensen for the upset, but ain't nobody stopping the Zain Train.

2. Kyle Snyder - Ohio State - Heavyweight
How can I put the United States's youngest Olympic gold medal winning wrestler below the top spot? I'm struggling with that question myself. I actually originally had him at the three spot, but decided to move him ahead of Zain. The other issue is that he won that gold medal at 213 pounds, and the heavyweight limit is 275. Even if he's walking around at 225-230, he's going to be giving up around 50 pounds to some of the big boys at this weight. He's still steamrolled everybody that he's gone up against, as he's a takedown machine. He's freakishly strong as no heavyweight can push him around on the mat, and he's such an incredible athlete that he can do whatever he wants despite the size disadvantage. He's going to win his second straight national title, but I just couldn't put him ahead of this last guy.

1. Jason Nolf - Penn State - 157
Nolf is winning the National Title this year. The only thing that stopped him were some incredibly close matches with Isaiah Martinez last year, and this year, he doesn't have to worry about that. In fact, he doesn't have much to worry about at all. There is only one guy he hasn't scored bonus points against this year, and that is the second-ranked Michael Kemerer, but that does not mean that these were close matches. Kemerer lost by more but looked better in their second match, but Nolf is just too good. Even as a Penn State hater, there is no way to not like watching Nolf. There is no question that he will come home with a National Title; the only question is whether he gets bonus points in all of his matches or not. He's that good, and that is why, out of all the number one seeds, there is nobody I am more confident in taking home the title than Jason Nolf.

Everything You Need to Know About USA Wrestling in the 2016 Olympics

The Olympics have now been underway for nearly two weeks, and if you have missed any of the action, don't worry; you still haven't missed much (Greco and Women's Freestyle wrestling did start earlier this week). That's because tomorrow starts the men's freestyle wrestling competition. It may last three days, but these are wrestlers, which just means that they only do two weight classes from start to finish in a day. Within about eight hours, you have to clean out the best in your division to earn a gold medal. It's beautiful, it's wonderful, and it's the only sport you need to watch in the Olympics. And judging by the demographics of this website, you're probably most interested in how the USA is going to do at each weight class, so let's break it down, starting with the lowest chances and working our way up to who has the best chance of claiming Gold in Rio.

65 KG - Frank Molinaro
Am I a Frank Molinaro hater? Yeah, pretty much. Even when he won a NCAA title at 149, it was against a fairly weak class that year. The fact that he tied two of his matches but won on criteria to get the US spot didn't inspire a lot of confidence (I was also bitter about that first tie taking out personal favorite, Brent Metcalf). Then he went to Turkey to qualify the US for the Olympics and lost a must-win match. So that was that, and the US will not have anyone in Rio at 65 KG.

But wait, he managed to get in because somebody else got busted for doping. And to be fair, he's wrestling way better than he ever has. Sure, a lot of matches, he's pulling something out of his ass, but you have to be incredibly good just to be in position to pull something out of your ass. I don't see that luck continuing, and I'd be surprised if he got a win this weekend.

57 KG - Daniel Dennis
You have no idea how badly I would like to put Daniel Dennis higher on this list, but I can't do it. If there is one American that even non-Americans could get behind, it's Daniel Dennis. The guy had the most hearbreaking NCAA Finals loss in history. I'm not talking about one of the most heartbreaking, it is the hands down winner for most heartbreaking loss.

I still get ill watching it; I cannot imagine what he went through when it happened. And that's not the craziest part of his story. He gave up wrestling for years where he lived in a trailer with no television or internet; that was a step up from the half year that he spent living in his truck. And somehow, after all of that, he came back better than ever. He had to beat his own teammate in the US Trial finals, and he went out and dominated. With a story like that, he's probably got a pretty impressive Wikipedia page. Well, here's a screenshot:

That's the entire thing. You don't even have to scroll down to fit it all in, and about half of that is the table of contents and references. This is the difference between wrestlers and other sports stars. Hell, The top E-Gamer at 57 KG in the US probably has a Wikipedia page 50 times this long (of course I'm pretty sure e-gamers only come in at 57 KG or super heavyweight, so maybe it's a bigger deal).

To make it to the Olympics from where he was is incredible. But I'm going to be pulling for an even greater climax in his story. He's not going to be favored, but I'm definitely not going to count him out.

125 KG - Tervel Dlagnev
I know he doesn't sound like an American, but trust me, he is, and he's definitely the best heavyweight the US has. He has constantly been in the mix at World Championships, but it seems like he kind of stalls out in that 3-6 range and can't quite make it to the elite of the elite. He has also struggled with some injuries over the past year, and the current rankings reflect that (currently #14) so I can't really see him taking a step forward. It's tough to envision him making the podium, but he's had far more international success than everyone but the top two guys on this list, so it wouldn't be crazy to see him wrestling for a Bronze.

86 KG - J'Den Cox
J'Den Cox is probably the biggest wildcard on Team USA (I mean, he's the only guy on the team with a shorter Wikipedia than Dan Dennis). He could easily be eliminated immediately, and that will be that. But he's also incredibly athletic, and also incredibly big for 86 KG. He's long and strong, so I guess he's down to get the freak shit on. But he's just such a different matchup from the other guys in this weight that he could cause some issues. His technique is not going to be nearly as polished as some of the Eastern European countries he'll be squaring off against, but if there's an American that can come out of nowhere to make it to the championship, this is the guy to pick.

As for winning the gold...um, no. Unfortunately for Cox, there's this Russian named Abdulrashid Saulaev. Even if Cox gets eliminated early, you should watch Sadulaev, because he is that awesome. He might be the best wrestler at any weight class right now, although I favor the guy at the end of this list.

97 KG - Kyle Snyder
Snyder won the World Championships last year at the age of 19. That is so stupidly impressive and amazing that I still haven't totally wrapped my head around it. He comes into these games ranked number four as he has had some close losses at international tournaments. Even those losses were questionable as the reffing at some of these international tournaments are...less than fair. Oh, and in between those international tournaments, he bumped up to heavyweight and won a National Title. What I'm trying to say is Kyle Snyder is really freaking good at wrestling. Even with that, when you search Wikipedia for Kyle Snyder, this is what you get:

The first result is a pitcher who played three seasons in the mid-2000s and had an ERA of nearly 6.00. He outranks the World Champion Wrestler.

Anyway, if I was betting on this weight class, I'd take Snyder. He's so young that he's constantly improving, and he was already good enough to win a World Championship. Without questionable officiating, I don't think anyone can knock him off, and he has the potential to become a generational talent.

74 KG - Jordan Burroughs
Speaking of generational talents, that is exactly what Jordan Burroughs is. He's accomplished so much in wrestling that it's absolutely stupid at this point. Some have referred to him as the Michael Jordan of wrestling, and that's not an outrageous statement. I mean, the guy once won a World Championship with a broken ankle. On top of that, he's an ideal ambassador for the sport as a whole. Sure, he's not quite as explosive as he was four years ago, but what he's lost in that area, he's gained in technique as he's far better at turning guys and racking up points on the mat. I can't explain Jordan Burroughs. He's the best wrestler in the world. but even that doesn't do him justice. No matter what the sport is, to watch someone special in his craft is a religious experience. Jordan Burroughs wrestles tomorrow. Don't miss it.