When are we going to see these giants compete in MMA?
The American wrestler in the 120kg weight class, that lost out for bronze has a big Judo background and was using foot sweeps in his matches. He also has 2 sisters that are chamion Judo players.
He fought this cut huge Chinese dude who is 6'8 and in great shape. These guys are all beasts and very athletic. They come from all around the world and pretty much do not have a career anymore after the olympics except coaching. DANA NEEDS TO PURSUE THESE GUYS WITH DEALS MAN! THESE GUYS COULD RE-DEFINE THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN MMA OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. Think about this! Look at all of these guys from the Ukraine and Georgia, guys who do not have much money as they do not make much money for wrestling. Bring these guys in! Find the next Coleman, Severn, Kerr, Lesnar, etc.
Look at all of the great heavyweight eastern european wrestlers that were in the olympics! There may be the next Fedor in this group!
Dana white should recruit some of these beasts to bring into the heavyweight division for the UFC.
I know they cannot come in right away, but he should setup a training center, like the WWE does (NOT FAKE THOUGH!!!)
He would accepts high level world class athletes from different sports who are high level and get them setup with trainers (private trainers, not on UFC Payroll) and get them training for a year to make their debut in the UFC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jGFsTcIHpA
SPOILERS DOWN BELOW FOR THE WINNERS OF THE OLYMPIC 120kg weight class:
Better late than never, here are the results of the Greco-Roman 120 KG/264.5 Lbs tournament from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Qualifications
1. Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden) Def. Marek Mikulski (Poland)
2. Anton Botev (Azerbaijan) Def. David Saldadze (Uzbekistan)
3. Dremiel Byers (United States) Def. Aleksandr Chernetsky (Ukraine)
4. Deli Liu (China) Def. Panagiotis Papadopoulos (Greece)
1/8 Finals
1. Mihaly Deak-Bardos (Hungary) Def. Ari Taub (Canada)
2. Yannick Szczepaniak (France) Def. Ivan Ivanov (Bulgaria)
3. Khasan Baroev (Russia) Def. Masoud Hashem Zadeh (Iran)
4. Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania) Def. Riza Kayaalp (Turkey)
5. Yuri Patrikeev (Armenia) Def. Yasser Sakr (Egypt)
6. Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Def. SiarheiArtsiukhin (Belarus)
7. Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden) Def. Anton Botev (Azerbaijan)
8. Dremiel Byers (United States) Def. Deli Liu (China)
Quarterfinals
1. Yannick Szczepaniak (France) Def. Mihaly Deak-Bardos (Hungary)
2. Khasan Baroev (Russia) Def. Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania)
3. Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Def. Yuri Patrikeev (Armenia)
4. Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden) Def. Dremiel Byers (United States)
Semifinals
1. Khasan Baroev (Russia) Def. Yannick Szczepaniak (France)
2. Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Def. Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden)
Repechage
1. Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania) Def. Masoud Hashem Zadeh (Iran)
2. Yuri Patrikeev (Armenia) Def. Siarhei Artsiukhin (Belarus)
Medal Round
1. Bronze: Mindaugas Mizgaitis (Lithuania) Def. Yannick Szczepaniak (France)
2. Bronze: Yuri Patrikeev (Armenia) Def. Jalmar Sjoberg (Sweden)
3. Gold: Mijain Lopez (Cuba) Def. Khasan Baroev (Russia)
2008 Summer Olympics: Men’s Freestyle Wrestling - 120 KG/264.5 Lbs Medal Round
Filed under: Amature Wrestling, Event Results, Olympic Wrestling, Wrestling — Tags: 2008 Summer Olympics, Men's Freestyle Wrestling, Artur Taymazov, Bakhtiyar Akhmedov, Marid Mutalimov, David Musulbes — invizweb @ 6:58 am
Get more 2008 Summer Olympics content at Combat-Hooligans.com
Repechage 1:
1) Disney Rodriguez Valera (Cuba) def Ali Isayev (Azerbaijan)
Repechage 2:
1) Fardin Masoumi Valadi (Iran) def Bozhidar Boyadzhiev (Bulgaria)
2) Fardin Masoumi Valadi (Iran) def Steven Mocco (USA)
Bronze Medal Match 1: Disney Rodriguez Valera (Cuba) vs David Musulbes (Slovakia)
Bronze Medalist 1: David Musulbes
Bronze Medal Match 2: Fardin Masoumi Valadi (Iran) vs Marid Mutalimov (Kazakhstan)
Bronze Medalist 2: Marid Mutalimov
Gold Medal Finals: Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan) vs Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia)
2008 Beijing Olympics Gold Medal Champion: Artur Taymazov
***
Gold: Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
Silver: Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia)
Bronze: David Musulbes (Slovakia) and Marid Mutalimov (Kazakhstan)
COME ON!!
COME ON!! MOST OF THESE GUYS WRESTLE AT 265LBS! HUGE MONSTERS WITH SKILL AND ENDURANCE THAT WOULD BE AT THE TOP WEIGHT OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE UFC. REAL HEAVYWEIGHTS! (NOT THAT BEING 225LBS IS BAD - SEE FEDOR AND CROCOP)
Look at these dudes! They fight out of some very poor countries! Give these guys $75,000 to $150,000 Show/WIN money and see how they do! You know peopel from Uzbekistan and Slovakia can use $100,000!
Gold: Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
Silver: Bakhtiyar Akhmedov (Russia)
Bronze: David Musulbes (Slovakia) and Marid Mutalimov (Kazakhstan)
ttt
No One?!?!
You gotta figure that UFC wants STANDUP fights (knockouts). So, wrestlers that don't know how to strike would not be what the UFC is looking for. The only reason they have Brock Lesnar there is because he was a huge WWE star. As we all know, the UFC rules do not favor wrestlers. (standups, rounds etc.)
billy-b0y - You gotta figure that UFC wants STANDUP fights (knockouts). So, wrestlers that don't know how to strike would not be what the UFC is looking for. The only reason they have Brock Lesnar there is because he was a huge WWE star. As we all know, the UFC rules do not favor wrestlers. (standups, rounds etc.)
I don't think this is true..
Look as Cain Valasquez's last fight...my guess is that most people who saw him fight want to see him again.
Wrestlers that are willing to open up in a fight is what they need.
heck, bring in 20 of these guys you are bound to find 5 solid HW stars out of the whole bunch.
THe could do an Ultimate Fighter show around it.
i was excited about this thread until I got to the "dana make it happen" part.
with that said, these really are some impressive athletes whom I would love to see compete at any level.
sorry, i just see dana as the guy who could get it done.
I hear you -- I didn't mean that the way it came across. I'm actually a Dana & UFC fan. However, I'd rather see guys like these get a shot in Japan or somewhere else. Still a great thread tho.