Kyle Dake hits pads and hints at MMA career on Instagram
American world champion freestyle wrestler Kyle Dake is currently preparing for the Olympics taking place in Tokyo, Japan next year. The four-time NCAA Division I champion has managed to get MMA fans excited whilst doing so and all it took was a brief clip on social media.
The 28-year-old posted a video of himself hitting pads with a trainer. He didn’t look all that great, he certainly won’t be the next Muhammad Ali, but nonetheless a seed was planted about his potential as an MMA fighter. Especially after he had already called out Khabib Nurmagomedov for a wrestling match. Dake has now hinted he’ll come to Khabib’s world by captioning his video with the following message.
“Slowly getting the hang of using my hands. Still sloppy but I’m realizing that striking and wrestling are more similar than I thought. After #tokyo2020 we will see what happens.”
If he did ever enter MMA, Dake would likely be the most decorated wrestler in the sports history. During his career he has captured four NCAA championships at division one level. He is one of four men to achieve that feat. Dake stands out from the rest due to the fact he won his titles in four different weight classes, something no one else has ever done.
Since then he has looked sensational on the world stage capturing back-to-back world championships. In 2018 he claimed gold in Budapest, Hungary whilst competing at 79kg (174lbs). This year he again claimed top prize in Kazakhstan again competing at 79kg.
He’ll now head to the Japan hoping to secure his wrestling legacy by claiming Olympic goal next summer. Once he achieves this goal there really isn’t much left for him in wrestling and he can follow in the footsteps of countless high level wrestlers by entering the world of MMA.
Of course, he’d have plenty of work to do on that stand up but with his grappling credentials alone he’d beat a ton of 170lb fighters. A few years of work and there is no reason why he cant be competing with the best in the UFC. First things first though. He’s got a gold medal to go win in Tokyo.
