Joe Dexter
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Could Kyle Snyder hold an MMA Belt and win Olympic Gold in 2020?
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
He’s already one of Ohio State’s most decorated wrestlers of all-time at 20-years old. After winning the Gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he wasn’t old enough to enjoy a cold brew stateside.
The ascent of Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder throughout the last two years belongs in the wrestling storybook alongside the improbable Rulon Gardner gold medal, the surge from Dan Gable in international competition or the unbelievable 159-0 mark from Cael Sanderson while wrestling for the same college that Gable made famous in Iowa State.
The former prep star who went 179-0 in his three years of high school competition, was never given a chance to even compete, let alone beat Jake Varner at the 2015 U.S. Open. Certainly, a world title was out of reach for the kid who decided that training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs was more important than his senior year of high school.
What is just as impressive as the feats, the records, the wins – is an 18-year old who entered the college wrestling scene with the potential to have a bright future.
He will more than likely leave it, after international success and a piece of gold, as the face that rivals Jordan Burroughs as the identity of the USA men’s freestyle wrestling program.
And even possibly the future of mixed martial arts in the heavyweight division.
A sport that has seen the likes of Aaron Pico, Ed Ruth, Joey Davis and other grappling studs recently make the transition from the future of international wrestling to the stars of MMA’s tomorrow.
For some, it might be surprising the Snyder would have any interest in sharpening his skills in the other arts that make up the fight game. It’s easy to question why the quiet and humble young man from Maryland would have any interest in having a cage locked behind him as he prepares to physically impose his will on the opponent in the quickest way possible to secure a win.
It’s easy to question why a man that has a future claiming the front of Wheaties boxes as potentially the greatest heavyweight of all-time would move on from the sport that has given him his identity.
A sport that he has mastered in a little over two years, by turning his offensive style as a freshman at Ohio State into an offensive melee in matches that is fueled by impeccable stance defense and an ability to turn that defense into positions that mean points on the scoreboard.
That same mentality fueled his national championship for Ohio State last season. He adapted his game from international freestyle competition and molded it to fit the more traditional folkstyle collegiate rules.
It’s the same reason he’ll have success if he transitions to mixed martial arts.
Snyder has already shown through international competition that he has an uncanny ability to mold what he learns to his strongest skill sets. During his championship runs, he transformed his game by sticking to what he knows best moves wise and not creating a wrestling playbook that would put him in positions in which he wouldn’t be the grappler in control of positioning at all times.
As we’ve seen with Ronda Rousey, Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren and Henry Cejudo in their transition from Olympic competition to mixed martial arts – it doesn’t necessarily take a five-tool martial arts toolkit to have success right away.
Rousey dominated for years based solely on her Judo experience. Cormier to this day has dominated the light heavyweight division (outside of Jon Jones) with his tactical wrestling, positioning and grind it out mentality.
It’s about improving every single day in the gym and continuing to grow as one of the world’s youngest sports continues to evolve.
That’s a walk in the park for Snyder, who has been doing that since day one of joining the Ohio State wrestling program and competing with the unbelievable talent and experience that accompanies the Buckeye program in the practice room as part of the Ohio RTC.
It’s far from a foregone conclusion that Snyder will compete at the highest-level of mixed martial arts or if he’ll even attempt championship gold in the fight game.
One thing we do know though is that the king of the 97 KG weight division has a history of surprising everyone in the combat sports world, while paving his own road toward success.
Nobody expected him to leave Olympic training to compete for a collegiate title and help his team try to repeat as national champions.
Yet, he did it.
Everyone waited for the storybook run to the Olympics to get derailed in Rio, during the toughest international tournament in the world.
Yet, it didn’t.
Nobody imagines a scenario where Kyle Snyder could be the first active champion in mixed martial arts to compete and win a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics. All of this on the horizon while staying in Columbus for one more season, looking to lead his Ohio State squad to their second national title in the last three seasons.
Yet, it’s a distinct possibility.
Ohio State Head Coach Tom Ryan told Eleven Warriors that immediately is a relative term when discussing Snyder’s comments on when he would like to start training MMA.
What Snyder has proven that proving to others that you are the best is relative to immediate success when you are an athlete of his caliber that is willing to learn the best and quickest way to succeed.
The post Could Kyle Snyder hold an MMA Belt and win Olympic Gold in 2020? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
He’s already one of Ohio State’s most decorated wrestlers of all-time at 20-years old. After winning the Gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he wasn’t old enough to enjoy a cold brew stateside.
The ascent of Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder throughout the last two years belongs in the wrestling storybook alongside the improbable Rulon Gardner gold medal, the surge from Dan Gable in international competition or the unbelievable 159-0 mark from Cael Sanderson while wrestling for the same college that Gable made famous in Iowa State.
The former prep star who went 179-0 in his three years of high school competition, was never given a chance to even compete, let alone beat Jake Varner at the 2015 U.S. Open. Certainly, a world title was out of reach for the kid who decided that training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs was more important than his senior year of high school.
What is just as impressive as the feats, the records, the wins – is an 18-year old who entered the college wrestling scene with the potential to have a bright future.
He will more than likely leave it, after international success and a piece of gold, as the face that rivals Jordan Burroughs as the identity of the USA men’s freestyle wrestling program.
And even possibly the future of mixed martial arts in the heavyweight division.
A sport that has seen the likes of Aaron Pico, Ed Ruth, Joey Davis and other grappling studs recently make the transition from the future of international wrestling to the stars of MMA’s tomorrow.
For some, it might be surprising the Snyder would have any interest in sharpening his skills in the other arts that make up the fight game. It’s easy to question why the quiet and humble young man from Maryland would have any interest in having a cage locked behind him as he prepares to physically impose his will on the opponent in the quickest way possible to secure a win.
It’s easy to question why a man that has a future claiming the front of Wheaties boxes as potentially the greatest heavyweight of all-time would move on from the sport that has given him his identity.
A sport that he has mastered in a little over two years, by turning his offensive style as a freshman at Ohio State into an offensive melee in matches that is fueled by impeccable stance defense and an ability to turn that defense into positions that mean points on the scoreboard.
That same mentality fueled his national championship for Ohio State last season. He adapted his game from international freestyle competition and molded it to fit the more traditional folkstyle collegiate rules.
It’s the same reason he’ll have success if he transitions to mixed martial arts.
Snyder has already shown through international competition that he has an uncanny ability to mold what he learns to his strongest skill sets. During his championship runs, he transformed his game by sticking to what he knows best moves wise and not creating a wrestling playbook that would put him in positions in which he wouldn’t be the grappler in control of positioning at all times.
As we’ve seen with Ronda Rousey, Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren and Henry Cejudo in their transition from Olympic competition to mixed martial arts – it doesn’t necessarily take a five-tool martial arts toolkit to have success right away.
Rousey dominated for years based solely on her Judo experience. Cormier to this day has dominated the light heavyweight division (outside of Jon Jones) with his tactical wrestling, positioning and grind it out mentality.
It’s about improving every single day in the gym and continuing to grow as one of the world’s youngest sports continues to evolve.
That’s a walk in the park for Snyder, who has been doing that since day one of joining the Ohio State wrestling program and competing with the unbelievable talent and experience that accompanies the Buckeye program in the practice room as part of the Ohio RTC.
It’s far from a foregone conclusion that Snyder will compete at the highest-level of mixed martial arts or if he’ll even attempt championship gold in the fight game.
One thing we do know though is that the king of the 97 KG weight division has a history of surprising everyone in the combat sports world, while paving his own road toward success.
Nobody expected him to leave Olympic training to compete for a collegiate title and help his team try to repeat as national champions.
Yet, he did it.
Everyone waited for the storybook run to the Olympics to get derailed in Rio, during the toughest international tournament in the world.
Yet, it didn’t.
Nobody imagines a scenario where Kyle Snyder could be the first active champion in mixed martial arts to compete and win a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics. All of this on the horizon while staying in Columbus for one more season, looking to lead his Ohio State squad to their second national title in the last three seasons.
Yet, it’s a distinct possibility.
Ohio State Head Coach Tom Ryan told Eleven Warriors that immediately is a relative term when discussing Snyder’s comments on when he would like to start training MMA.
What Snyder has proven that proving to others that you are the best is relative to immediate success when you are an athlete of his caliber that is willing to learn the best and quickest way to succeed.
The post Could Kyle Snyder hold an MMA Belt and win Olympic Gold in 2020? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...