Amateur Wrestling is a rite of passage among North American youth. Training and competing in one of the most primal and physically demanding individual sports in the world will teach discipline across several domains. The sport itself can offer a bridge towards identity and purpose for young people, providing a direction when, without such guidance, they might otherwise be lost. Fighters often get their start on the mats of middle and high school gymnasiums across Canada and the USA. 

Professional fighting outlets, including the UFC, have openly attributed the sport of American amateur wrestling as the foundational building block for mixed martial arts. Some of the greatest NCAA wrestlers of recent times have gone on to pursue a career in fighting in the UFC. 

With wrestling as the focal point of their fighting style, four former NCAA champion wrestlers rose to the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts by becoming UFC champions. Here is a list of past UFC champions who were also NCAA Division 1 champions, sometimes more than once. Following that is a brief profile of two of the most decorated wrestlers to have transitioned from the amateur circuit to the professional ranks within the past decade. They are poised and determined to one day become UFC champions themselves.

Brock Lesnar:

Brock Lesnar was a UFC and NCAA Division 1 Champion in the Heavyweight Division.
Brock Lesnar at the University of Minnesota

UFC 100 remains one of the most memorable heavyweight title fights in the company’s history. Brock Lesnar’s knockout and defeat of Frank Mir for the belt marked the giant fighter’s introduction to the International sports community. Before gaining fame and constant media attention, Brock was a decorated collegiate wrestler for the University of Minnesota, coached by J. Robinson. His pinnacle moment as a Golden Gopher was his individual NCAA championship in 2000.

Johny Hendricks:

Johny Hendricks won NCAA titles at Oklahoma State and later, the UFC
Johny Hendricks at the beginning of a UFC match

Hendricks was coached by none other than the great John Smith at Oklahoma State. He was an OSU “Cowboy” when he was a three-time finalist in the 165-pound division. Hendricks won back-to-back titles in 2005 and ’06. The next logical step for this athlete, who has always seemed destined to fight, was to try to earn a spot on the UFC roster. He did much more than that. Putting together a string of victories in the Welterweight division, before taking down “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler at UFC 171.

Mark Coleman:

Mark Coleman is a UFC Hall of Famer and a former NCAA Champion.
Mark Coleman weighing in for a comeback match

Mark Coleman is a UFC Hall of Famer and considered one of the pioneers of the sport of mixed martial arts. The UFC, as we know it today, with its divisions and stadium events around the world, was much different in Coleman’s competitive days of the 1990s. In a tournament-style gladiator competition, Coleman emerged as the Heavyweight champion, defeating some mythical legends of the fight game, like former Champion Dan Severn. Before his triumph as the UFC Heavyweight Champion, Coleman was a National Champion in 1988 for Ohio State, under Coach Russ Hellickson.

Kevin Randleman:

Kevin Randleman wrestled and later fought to gain the UFC title.
Kevin Randelman was victorious while at Ohio State

Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman share two remarkable accomplishments within this select group. Both are UFC Hall of Famers, as well as NCAA champions, and were teammates for a short time at OSU. Randleman, also coached by Hellickson, was a two-time Division 1 champion, winning consecutively in 1992 and ’93. He took on all comers, both during his stint in the Pride Fighting Championships and later, when he moved to the UFC and became the company’s Heavyweight Champion with a decisive win at UFC 23.

End Of Wrestling Rant:

Bo Nickal was a legendary competitor and Champion while at Penn State.
Bo Nickal wins again while at Penn State

The intensive coaching that Bo Nickal received under Cael Sanderson at Penn State is evident in his current pursuit of a UFC title. If a fighter ties up with Nickal, or NCAA and Olympic wrestling champ Gable Steveson, they are bound to be tossed. It’s then on the ground, where a trained wrestler has to try to adapt and utilize their ju-jitsu skills.

If fighters can seamlessly apply both disciplines when a fight calls for them, they will have a clear advantage. The four fighters listed here were able to capture both belts and titles at every level. They dominated by applying their wrestling foundation to defeat all comers.