Issue 092
September 2012
1984
MARK SCHULTZ (USA)
Los Angeles 1984
Freestyle wrestling (82kg): gold medal.
One of the greatest wrestlers in US history, two-time world champion Schultz defeated Gary Goodridge by TKO at UFC 9 but didn’t return until an ‘03 Jungle Fight loss.
1988
RAY MERCER (USA)
Seoul 1988
Boxing (HW): gold medal.
Renowned for his professional boxing career after winning a version of the world heavyweight title, Mercer is also only former Olympic boxing medalist to do MMA. He tapped to a Kimbo Slice guillotine in an ‘07 exhibition, and scored a first-round knockout over former UFC champ Tim Sylvia in ‘09.
KENNY MONDAY (USA)
Seoul 1988/Barcelona 1992
Freestyle wrestling (74kg): 1988 gold, 1992 silver.
Double Olympic medalist and three-time All American, Monday fought just once in MMA, defeating UFC vet and esteemed coach John Lewis at Extreme Fighting 4 in March 1997 via TKO in the second round.
1992
MARK ‘THE HAMMER’ COLEMAN (USA)
Barcelona 1992
Freestyle wrestling (100kg): 7th place.
‘The Godfather of Ground ‘n’ Pound’ won two UFC tournaments and was the first UFC heavyweight champion. Coleman also won the 2000 Pride open-weight grand prix. He retired a UFC Hall of Famer with an MMA record of 16-10.
KEVIN ‘LIGHTNING’ JACKSON (USA)
Barcelona 1992
Freestyle wrestling (82kg): gold medal.
Another former two-time world wrestling champion, Jackson transitioned into MMA in 1997 and at UFC 14 was crowned middleweight tournament winner. He challenged Frank Shamrock for the then UFC middleweight title at UFC Japan. He retired in 1998 with a 4-2 record.
NAOYA OGAWA (JAP)
Barcelona 1992
Judo (95kg): silver medal.
Ogawa never went the distance racking up a 7-2 MMA record, with his sole defeats coming against Fedor Emelianenko, in the semi-final of the 2004 Pride heavyweight grand prix, and Hidehiko Yoshida – in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Shockwave 2005 when both were reportedly paid $2million.
HIDEHIKO YOSHIDA (JAP)
Barcelona 1992
Judo (78kg): gold medal.
A legend of Japanese MMA, Yoshida defeated Royce Gracie in front of over 90,000 spectators at Pride Shockwave in a jiu-jitsu match, reached the 2003 Pride middleweight grand prix semi-final and 2006 open-weight grand prix quarter final. His 9-8-1 record is littered with legends.
HERSCHEL WALKER (USA)
Albertville 1992 (Winter Olympics) Bobsled: 7th place.
Winter Olympics bobsledder, NFL star and all-round real-life superhero, naturally it was only a matter of time before Walker joined MMA and, at the age of 47, he signed for Strikeforce and, so far, he’s undefeated with two TKO victories.
1996
MATT GHAFFARI (USA)
Atlanta 1996
Greco-Roman (HW): silver medal.
Although highly decorated on the mats, Ghaffari had just one fight in MMA, losing via TKO to fellow Olympic silver medalist Naoya Ogawa at UFO: Legend at the Tokyo Dome on August 8th 2002.
PAWEL NASTULA (POL)
Atlanta 1996
Judo (95kg): gold medal.
A former Pride veteran, whose current MMA record stands at 4-4, Nastula took on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianeko and Josh Barnett in his first four MMA fights. Now aged 41, he’s still active as a main eventer on the emerging Polish MMA scene.
ALEXIS VILA (CUB)
Atlanta 1996
Freestyle wrestling (48kg): bronze medal.
Another former two-time world wrestling champion, Vila went on an undefeated tear after turning to MMA, until a loss against Eduardo Dantas in the Bellator season five bantamweight tournament final. The diminutive American Top Team star’s record currently stands at 11-2.
MIN SOO KIM (KOR)
Atlanta 1996
Judo (95kg): silver medal.
Probably most famous for being Brock Lesnar’s first MMA victim, ‘Mr Shark’ has an underwhelming MMA record of 3-7 that at least features a sprinkling of star names, albeit defeats. He was, however, a finalist in the K-1 world grand prix in Seoul in 2006.
DAN HENDERSON (USA)
Barcelona 1992/Atlanta 1996
Greco-Roman wrestling (82kg):
1992 10th, 1996 12th.
UFC 17 middleweight tournament winner, 2005 Pride welterweight tournament champion, former Pride middleweight and welterweight ruler – and, most recently, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion. Is the UFC title next? Boasting an MMA record of 29-8, his two trips to the Games come during 13 medal-laden years at the top of the wrestling pyramid.
2000
MATT LINDLAND (USA)
Sydney 2000
Greco-Roman wrestling
(76kg): silver medal.
Lindland has had an eventful fighting career. A former UFC middleweight title challenger, ‘The Law’ has fought a who’s who of MMA legends including moving up in weight to fight ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko. Currently 22-9, it’s been over a year since his last outing.
KAZUYUKI MIYATA (JAP)
Sydney 2000
Freestyle wrestling (63kg): 13th place.
A Hero’s and Dream veteran, ‘Little Hercules’ fought for the Dream featherweight championship and has the dubious distinction of being knocked out by ‘Kid’ Yamamoto in just four seconds in 2006. After a revival in 2009–10, he dipped last year to leave his record at 11-9.
MAKOTO TAKIMOTO (JAP)
Sydney 2000
Judo (81kg): gold medal.
In a five-year MMA career, Takimoto fought some notable fighters with an upset against Murilo Bustamante at Yarennoka! in Saitama in 2007 being his standout career highlight. He eventually retired with a record of 6-5.
HECTOR LOMBARD (CUB)
Sydney 2000
Judo (73kg): unplaced.
One of the UFC’s most recent acquisitions, former Bellator middleweight champion Lombard hoped to continue his run against Tim Boetsch in July. With a record of 31-2-1-1, he’s easily one of the most accomplished former Olympians to step into the cage.
FERRID KHEDER (FRA)
Sydney 2000
Judo (73kg): 7th place.
Former European 71kg judo champion Kheder has built up a 18-9-1 record in MMA since 2006, competing in promotions all over the world. On a five-fight slide, however, the Las Vegas-based grappler is winding down his career.
YOEL ROMERO (CUB)
Sydney 2000
Freestyle wrestling (85kg): silver medal.
A five-time World Championships medalist, including gold in 1999, Romero spent seven years at the very top of the wrestling podium. He signed with Strikeforce as a light heavyweight and dropped his first fight in five against Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante.
HEATH SIMS (USA)
Sydney 2000
Greco-Roman wrestling
(69kg): 11th place.
After the Olympics, Sims worked as sparring partner to Dan Henderson and became a renowned coach at Team Quest. As a fighter, he racked up a 5-4-2 MMA record between 2002 and 2006. He is now based in Singapore as head wrestling coach at Evolve MMA.
RULON GARDNER (USA)
Sydney 2000/Athens 2004
Greco-Roman wrestling (130kg): 2000 gold, 2004 bronze.
Undefeated in 13 years of top-flight wrestling competition before his loss in the semi finals in Athens, Gardner defeated Hidehiko Yoshida at Pride Shockwave 2004 in the first battle ever staged between two Olympic gold medalists in his only MMA fight.
2004
STEPHEN ABAS (USA)
Athens 2004
Freestyle wrestling (55kg): silver medal.
A knee injury wrecked Abas’ hopes of a second Olympic medal push in Beijing. Regarded as one of the top 15 wrestlers in NCAA history, he’s based out of The Arena MMA in San Diego, and has amassed a 3-0 record since stepping into the cage in 2010.
HIROSHI IZUMI (JAP)
Athens 2004
Judo (90kg): silver medal.
After topping his Olympic silver medal with World Championships gold in 2005, Izumi went 4-1 on home soil before a failed crack at the Dream light heavyweight title, challenging Gegard Mousasi, in July last year.
RHADI FERGUSON (USA)
Athens 2004
Judo (100kg): quarter finalist.
A four-time national champion, Ferguson is actually the cousin of street fighter turned TUF 10 cast member, Kimbo Slice. A successful coach to many top-level MMA fighters, the Strikeforce veteran is undefeated after three stoppage victories.
RICK HAWN (USA)
Athens 2004
Judo (81kg): 9th place.
The Bellator season four welterweight tournament runner-up, and a new season six lightweight tournament champion currently boasts a hugely impressive 13-1 record in MMA.
RONDA ROUSEY (USA)
Athens 2004/Beijing 2008
Judo (63kg): 2004 9th,
2008 (70kg) bronze.
The new face of women’s MMA, ‘Rowdy’ is the Strikeforce women’s 135lb champion and defends her belt against Sarah Kaufman later this summer. Still undefeated, she’s won all of her amateur and pro fights via armbar in the opening round.
DANIEL CORMIER (USA)
Athens 2004
Freestyle wrestling (96kg): 4th place.
The AKA standout is still undefeated and a Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champ. Now 10-0 in MMA, he also captained the US wrestling team to Beijing in 2008, but failed to compete due to suffering kidney failure making weight.
2008
BEN ASKREN (USA)
Beijing 2008
Freestyle wrestling (74kg):
quarter-finalist.
Askren, who started out in folk wrestling, has adapted his wrestling game to MMA brilliantly. He remains undefeated after 10 fights and has already made two defenses of the Bellator welterweight crown.
RANDI MILLER (USA)
Beijing 2008
Freestyle wrestling (63kg):
bronze medal.
After two false starts in Japan when she pulled out of consecutive planned debuts, Miller has finally now begun her MMA career. The Texan former wrestling sensation, who dominated on the mat, defeated Mollie Estes via TKO in the third round at Invicta FC 1 in April.
SATOSHI ISHII (JAP)
Beijing 2008
Judo (+100kg): gold medal.
Fought Hidehiko Yoshida at Dynamite!! 2009 in the second all gold medal MMA match in history. Now has a record of 4-2-1, after also dropping a decision to Fedor Emelianenko in his last fight in December 2011.
