Could Jon Jones have wrestled in the Olympics?

[Lee_]

No, zero chance.

On the other hand, if GSP had trained since he was a kid in wrestling, he may have been Olympic level.

 

[Shilajit]

I'm not necessarily discounting him, I'm just saying idk that he was Olympic level, elite of elite, when the chance was there. Competitive with those guys, perhaps. I don't think he has the frame for it, tbh.

You're right though, it's a guess, no way to ever know.

On the other hand, he was what, 20-21 when he debuted in MMA, 21-22 in UFC, prob wasn't the agenda, left college for MMA. Collegiate, Nationals, Worlds, Olympics come before pro-MMA if they're the the plan. Doesn't matter though, champ at 23, MMA was clearly the calling.

Not every world beater in wrestling was the absolute best before college.

Sounds like that was a crazy division. 13 guys who ranked below him ended up becoming extremely successful collegiate wrestlers, the three who placed above him went on to national champions with one being a gold medalist Olympian.

That's insane.. lol

But yeah, it's probably one of those meant to be type things. All that potential went into becoming an MMA champ within 2-3 years.

 

[Shilajit]

He got offered a scholarship to Iowa State by Cael Sanderson when Sanderson was still coaching there.

I love hearing these little niche stories