Jordan Burroughs has spent his career beating the best wrestlers alive. So when he was asked whether the mixed martial artists stepping into RAF could actually hang with an Olympic gold medalist on the mat, most people expected a quick dismissal. Instead,
Burroughs paused and gave the kind of answer that only someone who has nothing left to prove would give.
“I think, I mean, yeah, Merab just beat Henry Cejudo just a few weeks ago. So yes, it’s definitely possible,” Burroughs said.
It’s not the answer fans of freestyle wrestling wanted to hear from the six-time world champion, but it’s the one he gave. Burroughs, 38, has been the standard-bearer for American wrestling for well over a decade, and he’s not in the habit of handing out compliments to figh ters crossing over into his sport.
Yet he didn’t dodge the question either. He acknowledged the results are already on the board, and pointed to a recent example as proof that the line between the two disciplines isn’t as fixed as some wrestling purists might assume.
Then, almost as an afterthought, he drew the line back in his own favor.
“But I’m different. I’m different. That’s it,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs is set to step into the ring himself at RAF 12 in Cleveland, Ohio, an event marking the one year anniversary of the promotion. His opponent is Sean Brady, a UFC welterweight with Philadelphia roots that overlap with Burroughs’ own history in the city, even though the two had never actually met before this matchup came together.
Burroughs made clear there’s no bad blood driving the match, just respect for what Brady has built.
“I don’t know much about Sean. We both lived in Philadelphia for a period of time. We have mutual acquaintances, but him and I have never really crossed paths,” Burroughs said in another interview.
He didn’t stop there, adding a compliment that carries extra weight coming from a two-time Olympian. “I wouldn’t want to fig ht him. Let’s put it that way.”
What Burroughs is banking on is the format itself. Without a cage to change the geometry of the contest, he believes the habits that serve figh ters so well in mixed martial arts competition could actually work against them in a wrestling setting.
“There’s no cage, can’t push me up against the wall. There’s push outs. All the things that kind of are helpful within his space are beneficial for me in wrestling, freestyle wrestling,” Burroughs said.
