USA wrestling star David Taylor on potential MMA switch after Paris 2024
The 86kg freestyle wrestling world and Olympic champion believes he must test himself in mixed martial arts if he is to be considered 'best combat athlete of all time.'
Wrestling
David Taylor sent the freestyle wrestling community on Twitter, now known as X, into meltdown in April this year when he posted a montage of him training in mixed martial arts (MMA), captioned, “Always looking for a new challenge.”
The men's 86 kg Olympic champion and two-time reigning world champion then did it a second time in August, when he called out London 2012 Olympic gold medallist and former USA teammate Jordan Burroughs to a match in "grappling, boxing, MMA - doesn’t matter."
Taylor’s challenge came as a response to Burroughs, who has spoken openly about the opportunities offered to him to swtich sports, posting a video of him training in jiu-jitsu and boxing.
The MMA question is not a new one for Taylor.
Ever since he lifted the 2018 world title, fans have been itching to see what the eventual Olympic gold medallist could do in the Octagon.
Those calls grew louder after he dominated former junior wrestling world champion-turned-Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight Bo Nickal at the USA Olympic Trials for Tokyo 2020.
“I’ve been around Bo for most of the past 10 years… When we wrestled with each other, good things happened,” told The MMA Hour podcast.
“Just seeing him make the transition from wrestling into (MMA) fighting, it’s so exciting and I’m excited for him.”
Olympic wrestlers transitioning to MMA
At 32-years-old, some onlookers queried whether ‘Magic Man’ Taylor was too old to switch.
But history is on his side.
Former USA wrestler Daniel Cormier, who placed fourth at the Olympic Games Athens 2004 and won a world bronze medal, made the switch to MMA aged 30, becoming a two-division UFC champion and being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Similarly, Cuba’s 1999 wrestling world champion and Olympic silver medallist Yoel Romero entered MMA at 32, and remains a household name in the sport.
“If I want to be considered as the best combat athlete of all time, stepping into the Octagon is something that is going to have to happen,” Taylor continued.
“Is it going to happen? I don’t know yet. But I’m definitely considering it more than before.
“But going up against people who have done it their whole life is no joke…some people get to celebrate with their family afterwards, but some people go to hospital. In wrestling that’s not the case - you can wrestle the next day if you want to.
“But I’ve competed at the highest level my whole life and when it comes down to being a competitor, I’ll bet on myself every time.”
For now, Taylor is focussed on defending his title at the 2023 Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
While he is still the gold medal favourite in the men’s 86 kg division, victory is anything but a foregone conclusion.
Taylor’s old rival, and 2021 world champion, Hassan Yazdani, poses the greatest threat.
The Islamic Republic of Iran grappler will be keen to avenge his losses to Taylor at the Tokyo 2020 finals, 2022 and 2018 World Championships, and 2017 World Cup.
Yazdini will be looking for a repeat of the 2021 championships when he trumped Taylor in the finals.
The duo are set to be seeded on the opposite side of the bracket once again this year and all signs point to them meeting in the finals for their sixth head-to-head match.
After that, Taylor will have the Olympic title to defend at Paris 2024, a ‘top priority’ should he qualify and be selected for Team USA.
If he achieves that, there will be no other accolades left in the sport he has dedicated himself to since he could walk.
Therefore, Taylor has plenty of options. In addition to competing, other hats the magic man wears include father, husband, business owner, and wrestling coach.
But the idea of finishing his career with a lucrative contract in the more commercialised world of MMA, is an understandably tantalising one.