The San Jose Mercury News ran a piece on how MMA has hurt amateur wrestling. The article looks at how many promising wrestlers are turning to MMA as it has a financial future.
The article interviews Mark Munoz about the difficulty he had trying to make ends meet financially after his amateur wrestling career. Munoz was coaching at UC Davis when Urijah Faber persuaded him to try MMA.
It also mentions former ASU wrestler Cain Velasquez and poses the question whether an MMA fighter could have been competing in the Olympics. The U.S. freestyle coach Zeke Jones believes that MMA may help attract people to wrestling based on the skills they learn in amateur wrestling. The article points out that 68 percent of the UFC fighters have at least a high school wrestling background. Velasquez points out that wrestling is the only sport in high school or college that prepares one for MMA. However, US Amateur Wrestling has been taking a hit over the years.
Via the San Jose Mercury:
After dominating international freestyle wrestling for decades, the United States has been in a drought — winning just one gold medal in each of the past two Olympics. Financially strapped collegiate athletic departments have cut programs, and there’s little money to be made by Olympic hopefuls as they toil in obscurity.
Promoters of amateur wrestlers have created the Living the Dream Fund and has offered monetary benefits of up to $250,000 if an athlete wins a gold medal.
Payout Perspective:
It’s an interesting look at the state of amateur wrestling as the Olympics in London near. Despite what we write about how much MMA fighters may (or may not) be getting paid, there is no real future for amateur wrestlers after college. Thus, it’s the reason why we see many wrestlers turning to MMA. As Jones points out, amateur wrestling can benefit from MMA’s popularity as a tool to learn for the MMA fighter. We’ve seen how wrestlers have taken advantage of their skills in the octagon and it’s a key component for a well-rounded fighter. But from a financial perspective, how can amateur wrestling retain its athletes to prepare for events like the Olympics?
This also depends on the country. I’m not to sure about wrestling in North America, but most people in Australia think that MMA has helped the sport here. For example check out this interview with Australian 2012 Olympian Farzard Tarash who praised MMA for the growth of wrestling in Australia.
http://fightnewsaustralia.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/813-olympian-farzad-tarash-praises-mma-for-wrestling-growth
I dont think they have much of a ground to prove this. There is no doubt that MMA has caused thousands of kids to follow wrestling. I have a hard time believing MMA is taking many if any wrestlers from the Olympics. Anyone who would have a future in the Olympics i would think would be a stand out in College and know the olympics are possible. In that case i dont see them quiting wrestling to follow MMA as long as that dream was still alive.
There is really a lot of wrestlers making the jump to MMA. Even if you look at the finalist in the national championship each year. Only a fraction go into MMA. I would assume the other 300 wrestlers at the championships who dont make it to the finals are less likely to go into MMA.
Another thing that is missed here is lots of the guys try out or compete for the national team and dont make the Olympics. This is why they go to MMA. Cole Konrad is in MMA but he only come in 3rd in the US World Team Trials. The guy he beat in the NCAA championships went onto the Olympics in 2008. He is now training for a career in MMA.
Anyone who has a chance at the Olympics will take that route rather than get punched in the face. MMA is taking wrestling away from Coaching wrestling which is what almost every single one of them would be doing either as an assistant or a head coach.
MMA is getting big all over the world. Even if MMA was taking some Olympic wrestlers from the US. Who is to say other countries are not losing them too? Kind of a pointless debate. MMA has shot life into wrestling and made a demand for it in the schools that are trying to do away with it.
Here is some interest numbers. Starting in 1986. The number if kids participating in High School wrestling declined every single year for 7 years. Ranging from 251k down to 222K in 2002. From that point on participation floated between 220k and 240K until it reach 251K again in 2005. Of course the UFC just happened to be created the same year the decline stopped. Now since the debut of TUF and the MMA boom. Wrestling participation has increased every single year since 2005 up until the last year of statistics i have in 2009/10. That year there was 279,000 Hs students wrestling. The most since 1978. In 1992 there was only 404 girls wrestling. In 2009 there is over 6,000. After checking for the 2010-2011 stats. Wrestling has once again jumped another 2,000+ participants. 281,083 total with 273,732 boys and 7,351 girls.
Its hard to argue the impact MMA has had on people going into wrestling.
http://www.nfhs.org/Participation/HistoricalSearch.aspx
What’s hurt college wrestling is simple — the extremist anti-male Title IX. Title IX forced colleges to gut wrestling programs across the nation. This even as high school wrestling has grown in popularity.
We’ve slashed wrestling scholarships for boys while adding tons of rowing scholarships for upper class girls in order to satisfy the absurdly rigid Title IX requirements.
Title IX is a despicable law. But the upper class girls and their families who get free scholarships love it. And wrestling tends to appeal to boys from less well-off families, so they don’t count.
Good post. Title 9 has caused so many schools to drop wrestling it is crazy. I believe over 200 programs have dropped wrestling since title 9 was drafted. It was a stupid law. It was created to give females equal opportunity to play sports. But schools did not want to create girls programs that lost money so what happen is they cut mens sports rather than add girls sports. Of course some girls sports were added. But most found it eaier to just drop the number of males down to balance out. Lots of Males sports were dropped besides Wrestling but none were as popular as wrestling. Title 9 has good intentions but incorrectly implemented. A better reasonable balance should be used. It was meant to force schools to add girls programs not kill mens. Schools found a loophole to save money and they should be forced or atleast encouraged to keep/bring back those sports.
Mma fans like me learned wrestling for fighting. The pins and such aren’t really applicable to a real fight. For instance teamquest teaches submisison wrestling classes. Lots of double and single legs but no pin finish and no points. Just grind em into submission.
Fyi the only division one wrestling program is at oregon state. The Phil Knights University of oregon doesn’t even have a wrestling program. The only other college wrestling in the state is at clackamas community college (perrenial ncjaa powerhouse) and southern oregon in NAIA. Portland state dropped its program in 2009 I believe. That’s where Mike Pierce wrestled at too!
The short answer; MMA is not ruining amateur wrestling any more than professional boxing is ruining amateur boxing.