So I know that many of Michigan's former wrestler are translating the academic degree into professions that involve use of their brains (see Eric Tannenbaum at Michigan Med School for exampte) but I was just watching some mixed martial arts on t.v. and noticed that former Michigan wrestler Joe Warren is apparently fighting for the featherweight championship belt in Bellator Fighting Championships some time in the near future.
Anybody know if there are any other former Michigan wrestlers competing in MMA?
I would love to see Ty Todd try it, but I believe he's entering the Olympic programs. MSU has actually had some decent success here, Rashad Evans being the most prominent right now, although Gray Maynard, his former teammate, is going to challenge for that particular title.
I really can't think of any that have though, just thinking of recently, Tannenbaum is in med school, Todd is still wrestling, don't know where Wagner is but he's not in MMA (Despite beating Cain Velasquez two years in a row at NCAA's), and Steve Luke is coaching. I know it's somewhere to the south, but I have voluntarily destroyed the part of my brain that recalls exactly where Michigan's last wrestling champion choose to coach, sort of like PTSD related to the colors scarlet and gray.
It's a little strange, as one would think Michigan would have at least one or two big name guys. Warren in Bellator is a nice start, and it looks like he's got a title shot upcoming, which is nothing to scoff at, but it's still AAA to UFC's major league's. It's surprising to me to see the success that NCAA wrestlers have in MMA yet none of Michigan's former wrestlers are really competing in it at the highest level. I mean MSU has Evans and Maynard, Minnesota has Lesnar, Okie St. has Couture, Hendrix, and Coleman, Penn State has Davis, even Non D-1 colleges have produced huge stars in Liddell and Jon Jones.
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