ideamark

With the seeming never-ending stream of former amateur wrestlers entering MMA, it seems like it's been a long time since I've heard about an ex-collegiate matman going into WWE. Assuming this is true (and that I haven't missed any big announcements from Vince McMahon)...

Is it ultimately better for amateur wrestling to have its brightest stars go MMA over WWE?

Mark

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Avallone

I know at our school we have a group of wrestlers that are training MMA in the summer instead of freestyle.

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MetsFan

WWE doesn't help anything.

I think MMA has a positive impact on HS & college wrestling but negative on olympic wrestling.

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Adolf Oliverbush

If you think wrestlers are being lost to MMA, instead of pursuing Olympic glory, it shouldn't be too long before they are being lost to MMA instead of pursuing a college education. Why wait to be 22 or 23 before becoming a pro athlete? These guys that start training MMA as kids will be real good by the time they finish high school. And if MMA continues to grow as it has been over the past 4 or 5 years, it may not be a bad idea.

Schlottke

There is no question that MMA is currently helping wrestling grow. I think if the MMA industry (UFC, WEC, etc) start grabbing kids in their teens, before college, they are going to have a lot more thugs.

I don't see a ton of really talented HS kids (Im talking Hendricks or Rosholt calibur out of HS) skipping college wrestling to take a stab at MMA any time soon.

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Adolf Oliverbush

Any time soon, it probably wont be happening. It's the 2nd generation MMA'ists who began training at 4 years old, who likely will not have a desire to go to college, when they are already ready to compete in the UFC or WEC.

What would the incentive be for those guys to put off making money for another 4 or 5 years? We have a lot of boxers turn pro prior to age 20 and many of them excell in the sport. Mike Tyson comes to mind but the list is far too long to compile here.

Adolf Oliverbush

To address the Rosholt and Hendricks comment, those guys will go to college. The super elite will be much better wrestlers than they are fighters and will likely go to college and pursue the education and college level acolades. It's the ones who feel like maybe they've achieved all they want to in wrestling and are pretty darn good MMA'ists that will be very tempted to start making money now and living the fighter lifestyle/sub culture that is so appealing to young men presently.

gjfovf

I agree with Adolf. The USOC stipend for the #1 person in his or her weight class is roughly 1000 a month plus health benefits from USA wrestling. If you are the #3 guy your stipend is about 400. Plus, it can be a up to an 8 year commitment. So, the financial prospects in MMA can draw some like Hendricks and Rosholt away from the Olympics and into the cage.

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MetsFan

Adolf - Something tells me Mike Tyson wasn't going to college anyway.

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"And from what I heard, he had a good time, other than getting punched in the head.” - Cael Sanderson regarding Randy Couture

Adolf Oliverbush

I think you may be right. If anything, he learned from the school of hard knocks. But Tyson notwithstanding, the list of boxers not going to college, and instead turning pro shortly after high school is very long. Some Mexican fighters turn pro by age 16.