Contributor: Tim Hickey
Two weeks ago, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo won his first MMA fight via a first round stoppage to moderate fanfare. As a freestyle gold medalist, the expectations for his MMA career are obviously much higher than an average prospect coming into their first MMA fight. But, what most fans may not realize, international and Olympic success do not always translate over to the world of MMA. The history of MMA is littered with a few Olympic medalists that never really took the world of mixed martial arts by storm. Again, putting on my Batman onesie and getting out my magnifying glass, I decided to take a look at some of the Olympic medalists who have tried to ply their trade at MMA.
Mark Schultz
Gold medal winner, 82kg Freestyle Wrestling (1984)
MMA Record: 1-0
A wrestler with BJJ training under Rickson Gracie, Schultz fought Gary Goodridge way back at UFC 9. He came into the fight as a late replacement for Dave Beneteau and proceeded to wrestle and wear down Goodridge, stopping the Canadian striker via TKO after 12 minutes of fighting. He never competed in MMA again.
Kevin Jackson
Gold medal winner, 82kg Freestyle Wrestling (1992)
MMA Record: 4-2
Jackson entered MMA in March of 1997, winning his first 3 fights via submission and earned himself a fight for the inaugural UFC Middleweight (now Light Heavyweight) championship. Unfortunately for Jackson, his opponent for that fight would be MMA legend Frank Shamrock. After losing the title fight in just 16 seconds via armbar, he would fight twice in 1998 (going 1-1) before retiring from MMA.
Kenny Monday
Gold Medal 1988, Silver Medal 1992 74kg Freestyle Wrestling
MMA Record: 1-0
He defeated John Lewis in his one and only MMA fight via TKO at Extreme Fighting 4 back in 1997.
Matt Lindland
Silver Medal Greco Roman Wrestling (2000)
MMA Record: 22-9
One of the more successful Olympic champions to cross over to MMA, he once challenged Murilo Bustamante for the UFC Middleweight championship waaaaay back at UFC 37. Most older fans of MMA remember him most for knocking himself out when trying to slam Falaniko Vitale (http://mmagif.blogspot.ca/2010/10/matt-lindland-ko-himself-gif.html) but there was a time and place when Lindland was one of the best 185lbers on the planet. Today he is a shadow of his former self, but still holds big wins over Pat Miletich, Phil Baroni, Carlos Newton and Ricardo Almeida.
Karam Ibrahim Gaber
Gold Medal (2004) Silver Medal(2012) Greco Roman Wrestling
MMA Record: 0-1
His one fight in MMA came against half human/mostly zombie Kazuyuki Fujita (best known for being able to take a beating that no normal human being should be able to absorb). Gaber lasted just over a minute as apparently he decided that he wanted to trade punches with Fujita instead of dragging him to the mat and pummeling him unmerciful. Needless to say, Gaber hasn’t been to excited to get back into the sport since.
Rulon Gardner
Gold Medal 130 kg(2000), Bronze Medal 120kg (2004)
MMA Record: 1-0
Best known as the man who defeated Russian great Alexander Karelin (his first defeat in 13 years), Gardner’s only MMA match was against fellow gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. He proceeded to batter the Judoka for 15 mins to take home a decision. He would never compete in either MMA or wrestling, and instead decided to put on a couple of hundred pounds and eventually showed up on NBC’s The Biggest Loser.
Hidehiko Yoshida
Gold Medal 93kg Judo (1992)
MMA Record: 9-8-1
Yoshida spent the majority of his career fighting in PRIDE, and in typical PRIDE fashion, was immediately thrown into the deep end when it came to fighting high level opponents. Within the first 5 fights of his career, he fought Don Frye, Wanderlei Silva and Royce Gracie, going 3-1-1 (with the only lost to a prime Silva). The most success he found in his MMA career was advancing to the 2nd Round of PRIDE’s 2006 Openweight GP, where he then had his leg turned into stew by Cro Cop. Retiring in 2010, Yoshida remains an icon in JMMA.
Makoto Takimoto
Gold Medal, 81kg Judo (2000)
MMA Record: 6-5
Another Judoka that began his career in PRIDE, Takimoto made his debut in 2004, going 3-3 in the promotion before it shut its doors. His most notable victory in MMA was over former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante.
Pawel Nastula
Gold Medal 95kg Judo (1996)
MMA Record: 4-4
Another guy who got just thrown to the wolves by PRIDE. In his first 3 fights, Nastula faced the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alexander Emelianenko and Josh Barnett. The lesson being, PRIDE hated Olympic champions. Like really hated those dudes.
Istvan Majoros
Gold Medal 55kg Greco Roman Wrestling (2004)
MMA Record: 0-1
Good Grandfather Jesus, what is it with the Japanese hating Olympic champions? Seriously, is it like some sort of weird fetish porn we aren’t aware of? Watch this respected Olympian get beaten to a fucking pulp? Majoros’ only MMA fight was against a prime Kid Yamamoto. It didn’t end well for Majoros. Just for those who weren’t aware of how good Kid was, Majoros struggled to take him down the whole fight. When he did get it down, Kid bounced right back up.
Naoya Ogawa
Silver Medal 95kg Judo (1992)
MMA Record: 7-2
Ogawa actually had a very successful start to his MMA career, going 7-0 (with 4 wins in PRIDE) before facing a prime Fedor Emelianenko in the semi finals of the PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight GP. He would fight once more, losing against fellow Judoka and Olympian Hidehiko Yoshida.
Satoshi Ishii
Gold Medal 100kg Judo (2008)
MMA Record: 6-2-1
Ishii is best known by fans as a man who set off a mini bidding war for his services when he declared he would be moving to MMA after his Olympic victory. Originally saying he would sign with the UFC (despite having no pro fights) he ended up joining World Victory Road. He has had moderate success so far in MMA, holding wins over Jerome Le Banner, Tim Sylvia and Sean McCorkle. Most fans most likely remember him from the reports that after he lost to Fedor back on NYE of 2012, that his brains had been reportedly scrambled and he would never fight again. The reports proved to be false, as Ishii can be still considered a good prospect at this junction of his career.
Stephen Abas
Silver Medal 55kg Freestyle Wrestling (2004)
MMA Record: 2-0
A decorated freestyle wrestler and named one of the 15 greatest NCAA wrestlers ever, Abas hasn’t fought since 2010 (mostly due to fighting a rape case in Colorado that he was acquitted of). At 35 years old, the time is ticking as to whether he wishes to continue a career in mixed martial arts
Sara McMann
Silver Medal 63kg Freestyle Wrestling (2004)
MMA Record: 6-0
Currently on track to be a challenger for Ronda Rousey’s belt if she can get past Sheila Gaff at the upcoming UFC 159 on April 27th, McMann has shown to be a bright prospect in the sport since turning pro back in 2011. On top of her Olympic medal, she is also a ADCC NA Silver Medalist in grappling.
Randi Miller
Bronze Medal 63kg Freestyle Wrestling (2008)
MMA Record: 1-0
Miller made her pro debut last year, stopping Mollie Estes in the third round of the very first Invicta event. She has not been announced for another bout as of this writing, but one would assume it can’t be very far off.
Ronda Rousey
Bronze Medal 70kg Judo (2008)
MMA Record: 7-0
Currently the only Olympic medalist to ever hold a major MMA title, Rousey is what all Olympians trying to ply their trade in MMA want to be. She has proven that she can utilize her one world class skill to her advantage and make herself a marquee name in the sport.
-Tim can be reached @timhickey80
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
