Olympic Gold Medalist Plans On Entering MMA
The big talk this past weekend at UFC 203 was the professional MMA debut of professional wrestling’s CM Punk, who was tapped by Mickey Gall a little over two minutes into the fight.
However, that night may have sparked interest in another athlete transitioning into MMA and that athlete is 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Kyle Snyder, who became the youngest person to ever win an Olympic gold medal at wrestling, he is 20 years old.
Snyder, when speaking to Fox Sports, talked about his interest in competing in MMA and still pursuing a career as an amateur wrestler as well.
“I want to fight. Basically what that tweet means. I love wrestling, I really do. I would want to continue wrestling but I want to do both at the same time,” Snyder revealed. “I want to pursue my wrestling career, wrestle in World Championships and the Olympic games, but if the scheduling could work out and I can become an elite fighter, then I want to fight in the UFC as well.
“They put on a great show, it’s really exciting. I think it’s something that I could excel in. I haven’t done much boxing or jiu-jitsu or striking or stuff like that but I think that I could pick it up pretty quickly. The crowd and the way they made the whole thing a big show was just exciting for me. It’s something that I want to do.”
The tweet that Snyder was talking about will follow, but the tweet, much like the interview, makes the amateur wrestlers intentions very clear.
I want to fight @ufc
— Kyle Snyder (@Snyder_man45) September 11, 2016
Snyder also made it clear in the very same interview that he wants to make history by competing in the UFC, while simultaneously winning another gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
“Yeah I mean I like making history. If this would be something ground breaking that no one has ever done before, it excites me. The crowd and everything the UFC has to offer is really exciting. I’m excited. It will be cool.”
Snyder has already begun thinking about incorporating some MMA training into his amateur wrestling training, although he has no idea how he will accomplish that at this point.
“I think I’ll throw some different training in pretty soon. I’m not sure exactly when I would want to fight, but I want to start working on the stuff I’m not as good at like the striking and jiu-jitsu and stuff like that,” Snyder said. “I think it would be a good thing on the days I’m not practicing wrestling going and getting an extra workout. “Obviously I would be wrestling, which would help me fight. I’m not sure when exactly I would want to come out.”
Unlike professional wrestler CM Punk, Snyder knows he will not be successful in the world’s largest MMA promotion without some experience under his belt.
“Hopefully, sometime soon — not soon as in like this year or something like that — but within the next couple of years when I get my grounds in this sport,”
Obviously we are a while away from Snyder even making an attempt at all of this, but if he is able to pull it off, it would make for a real interesting story.
