record has been set at the 2024 instalment of The Olympic Games by Cuban wrestler Mijaín López.
In fact, López was able to check off two Olympic records with his latest gold medal win by becoming the oldest medallist in the history of the competition at 41 years old.
He has also become the first athlete to win a staggering five consecutive gold medals in the same event by winning the top prize in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and now 2024.
After proving himself to be the best in the world from Beijing to London to Rio to Tokyo and now Paris, he ended what will forever be a legendary run in the sport by taking off his shoes and leaving them on the mat to mark the end of his Greco-Roman wrestling career.
Not only did he make history as one of the greatest competitors to ever grace the games, he sealed the historic win in dominant fashion.
His former training partner Yasmani Acosta Fernández is another elite wrestler but as a fellow Cuban, he was never able to get ahead of López in the pecking order.
After becoming a Chilean citizen, he took home the silver after being convincingly beaten 6-0 by his former countryman.
MMA Fans React To Mijaín López Retiring After Making History
Wrestling is always going to be a crucial aspect of mixed martial arts and so many top fighters have achieved success in the cage after coming through this background.
With that in mind, MMA fans reacted on social media to the record-setting Olympian going out on top as López left Paris with another emphatic performance.
“Man if he went to ufc he woulda dominated the heavyweight division easily n been rich”
LOL/
That’s an absolutely incredible accomplishment. Bravo to that dude. He is forever legend.
And that’s about what he’d deserve in MMA.
When an excellent athlete from another sport tries to make the NFL, do they just back up th brinks truck, or do they usually end up on the practice squad making minimum?
5 Gold in The Oly , I hear ya but
That 2k would almost half-ass cover meal expenses…if he were intermittent fasting.
Dana wouldn’t offer him a dime. It would make the UFC look bad since Lopez has thrown matches.
According to Chael.
Which makes it as certain as if god carved it in stone
with a lightening bolt.
If Romero taught us anything, Isn’t a Cuban 41 like a real world 60? Well done for a senior!
Really wish we could have seen both him and Teddy Riner in MMA.
The minimum… which is more than some champs make yearly in the UFC
“Practice squad players make $12,000 per week or $216,000 for 18 weeks . Veteran players with over two years of experience will make a minimum of $16,100 per week or $289,800 for 18 weeks, and a maximum of $20,600 per week or $370,800 for 18 weeks.”
UFC Champs get PPV points and there are a great many hidden sources of income up to and including just getting handed cash under the table.
Mid range ufc fighters sure arent rich but the champions do very well.
I recall when John jones brother in the nfl was told he made more than the ufc champ. He explained that this was very far from true.
Well yeah Jones is one of the highest paid UFC fighters, I said some champs. Do you think Pantoja or any of the female champs are taking home more than practice squad players? UFC champs also have to pay out of pocket for managers, team/training and even cornermens flights/accomodations since only one is covered by the UFC
Obviously those divisions don’t earn the ufc money, they probably cost them money, so they make less. But they make much more than whatever their purse is is all I can say.
I know in America/UFC the heavyweight division goes up to 265lbs and there’s pretty much zero interest beyond that.
It would be pointless for Riner to fight in the UFC since he will never make 265.
It would depend on h-ow you market/use the guy.
If you’re headlining him, then he deserves whatever he can actually bring in.