No one stopped 17-year-old Jerod Botts of Waverly from climbing into the cage for a mixed martial arts fight even though he was underage, didn’t have a parent’s permission and had never fought before. An experienced fighter beat him badly, leaving him with a broken nose, a cracked eye socket and vision damage.
When 20-year-old Zach Kirk of Shenandoah was paralyzed from the neck down in an amateur fight, the promoter who staged the event didn’t offer to pay medical expenses — and wasn’t required by law to do so.
The fist-pumping adrenaline rush and freewheeling style of combat draws young fighters despite the danger. The intoxicating swirl of bloody spectacle, thumping music and alcohol attracts crowds to bars and concert halls across Iowa.
Industry insiders, in interviews with The Des Moines Register, said they love the sport, but they believe certain practices in Iowa’s amateur fight scene lead to exploitation and injuries and need to be cleaned up.
Iowa is one of 15 states with no regulation of amateur mixed martial arts fights. Amateur fighting is illegal in six states. Other states have either regulation by state officials or oversight by a third-party sanctioning body.
Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Les Gutches of Corvallis, Ore. has been named to the new position of Director of Program Development for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States.
Gutches, who has a strong business background and a lifetime in wrestling as an athlete and coach, will be responsible for developing new or expanded programs, events and activities for USA Wrestling. He will work closely with state associations to increase membership and programs in underdeveloped markets in all styles of the sport. He will also expand strategic partnerships with other organizations, and assist in promotion and marketing activities.
He will also oversee the State Services staff of the organization, and work with a talented team which includes Manager of State Services Tony Black, Membership Services Assistant Shonna Vest, Manager of Coaches Education Cody Bickley and State Services Assistant Marge Civil.
“Les Gutches has an incredible reputation for integrity and performance,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. “He is a tremendous motivator, a wonderful father, a respected coach and one of our greatest champion athletes. His presence, leadership and work ethic will take USA Wrestling membership to new heights. We are excited to welcome Les Gutches to our team and are confident that his efforts will impact the entire wrestling community.”
It’s time to come clean. I’ve lied in this blog for two and a half years. I’ve always claimed that I never wrestled and that isn’t entirely true. I did win an 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L. Smart Junior High School. In 1963 every boy in Davenport, IA (it was a sexist world) was introduced to wrestling in some way. There were instructional units in our PE classes where we were taught the basics of the single leg takedown, the sitout and the half nelson. At the end of the unit the teacher would organize an intramural tournament and we were encouraged to enter.
At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.
Phil Davis, 2008 NCAA Division I 184-pound champ for Penn State, will be competing at UFC 109: Relentless at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 6.
Davis, who signed with UFC just last month, will be facing former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Brian Stann, who played football at the US Naval Academy.
A four-time NCAA All-American wrestler, Davis built a 116-20 collegiate career with the Nittany Lions. The 25-year-old Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native owns a 4-0 professional MMA record, having competed inside the Palace Fighting Championship, Ultimate Warrior Challenge and Ultimate Cage Fighting Challenge promotions. In Davis’ most recent MMA event in June, he submitted David Baggett with a rear-naked choke in 3:37.
ST. CROIX, Minn. – A little boy from Stillwater is inspiring hundreds of wrestlers in his community. The boy with special needs hasn’t let his disability slow him down or keep him from wrestling the best.
Dillon Hill, a 9-year-old with Down syndrome, started wrestling at St. Croix Valley Athletic Association a year ago.
Hill started working with the Coach Chris Bahl’s to learn the ins and outs of the sport.
CINCINNATI — It would be great to have someone shovel your driveway for free.
On Thursday, a small group of teens who call themselves the “Winton Woods Weather Warriors” wrestled the elements to say thank you.
“This is just going to be a workout day,” said Winton Woods High School senior Pryde Geh. His classmate, Lonzi Murphy, agreed. “You gotta work hard if you want to get better.”
Both are members of the Winton Woods wrestling team. Their coach, Chris Willertz, said it’s about discipline and hard work. “They can burn some calories and make weight and do something for the community,” said Willertz.
Willertz explained the service project is directly about giving thanks. The Winton Woods City School District tried to pass a levy for years. Yet, election after election, they failed. This August, the district adopted a “pay to play” policy and the wrestling team had to fend for itself.
The team tried to earn money through a fundraiser by selling cookie dough. “We tried our best to sell the cookie dough, but we didn’t sell a lot,” explained Murphy. “We sold as much as we could.”
It is often said that one of the best bases to have as a mixed martial artist is wresting. Wrestling, in all of its forms, is a sport that is all about leverage and control.
Many fighters who have come from a strong wrestling background have found great success. Just look across the MMA landscape today as it is littered with champion wrestlers making the transition to the sport.
The reason wrestlers have excelled in MMA is not due solely to wrestling itself. Wrestlers are successful because of the drive, determination, and work ethic that they bring with them.
If there is one man who epitomizes wrestling, drive, determination, and work ethic, it is Dan Gable.
After an undefeated prep wrestling career, the three-time Iowa state wrestling champion chose to attend Iowa State University. While at Iowa State, Gable continued his winning ways by capturing three Big Eight Championships, earning All-American honors all three years.
The only defeat that Gable suffered during his collegiate career came at the hands of Larry Owings. That loss came during the NCAA finals his senior year. That loss helped to fuel a fire inside Gable, a fire that would lead him to greatness.
Iowa’s Brent Metcalf shoots in on North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell during the 2009 NCAA finals in St. Louis. Photo by Larry Slater.
IOWA CITY – Brent Metcalf took the college wrestling world by storm during the 2007-08 season.
Metcalf’s first season as an Iowa Hawkeye was a memorable one as he won his first NCAA title, led Iowa to the national team title and won the Hodge Trophy as the best college wrestler in the country.
He came back strong again last season, extending his winning streak to 69 matches before he was upset by North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell in the 2009 NCAA finals. Metcalf helped the Hawkeyes edge Ohio State for the team title last March. Iowa won the title without crowning an individual champion.
Metcalf jumped right into freestyle competition after the NCAAs and placed second at the 2009 U.S. Nationals. He fell short of placing at the U.S. World Team Trials.
He just started his senior season as the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds for the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes.
The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team did enough Friday to beat up on two more opponents and set another school record for dual dominance.
But the Hawkeyes didn’t do enough to appease coach Tom Brands during wins against Bucknell and Rutgers in Lewisburg, Pa.
“There is seven minutes to wrestle and much, much more has to happen in those seven minutes,” Brands said. “I’m not sure we understand that right now. We could understand it, but then what’s the hesitancy? That’s the disconnect. We’ve got to figure it out. There’s got to be more happening in seven minutes.”
The Hawkeyes (7-0) won 16 matches while beating Bucknell 29-7 and handling Rutgers 33-9 to extend their school record of consecutive dual wins to 45 and match the program record for most wins on the road with 31.
Freshman Matt McDonough registered a pin and a technical fall in a pair of victories at 125, Daniel Dennis posted a technical fall and a major decision at 133 against No. 13 David Marble of Bucknell, and Jay Borschel notched two majors at 174, including a 10-1 demolition of Bucknell’s ninth-ranked Shane Riccio.
Republican Jim Gibbons of Des Moines, a former Iowa State University wrestling coach, will run for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.
The winner of the GOP primary will take on incumbent Democrat Leonard Boswell.
Gibbons, 50, said Thursday that he is leaving his job at Wells Fargo Advisors to pursue a full-time campaign. “I think anything that you do successfully, you can’t do that with one foot in and one foot out,” he said.
He said he began thinking seriously about running when he got a call from an old friend, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion from the University of Wisconsin.
“He called me up in the middle of the summer and he asked, ‘Jim have you ever considered running for Congress?’ And I said, ‘Every day.’ ”
Iowa has had a few wrestlers in top-level political positions, including former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa City, and former Iowa House Speaker Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs. Republicans have tried, unsuccessfully so far, to recruit former Hawkeye wrestling coach Dan Gable to run for office.
