DT MMA?
- Thread starter mcpat
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Not sure how I feel about this. If I was as talented as DT I’d think being a Div I head coach would be where I’d want to take my skills and knowledge after 2024.
He’d make waaaay more money as a coach than being in the MMA. Me personally I hope he doesn’t do it.
The window for high level competition in both wrestling and MMA is so small. In that realm, DT is certainly no spring chicken.
Does he have enough in the tank after 2024 to make a real run in MMA? I feel that's something you have to make a choice on very early. Try to make the Olympic or World team for a cycle or 2. If it doesn't work out, move on if MMA is your desire. Or keep fighting for that spot.
Coaching can wait until he is done with competition. Especially if he ends competition on his terms rather than by injury. Plenty of programs will be lining up to hire DT when he is ready.
Does he have enough in the tank after 2024 to make a real run in MMA? I feel that's something you have to make a choice on very early. Try to make the Olympic or World team for a cycle or 2. If it doesn't work out, move on if MMA is your desire. Or keep fighting for that spot.
Coaching can wait until he is done with competition. Especially if he ends competition on his terms rather than by injury. Plenty of programs will be lining up to hire DT when he is ready.
Seems odd to me. He’s won at the highest level of competition there is, so MMA would seem like a step down. Unless he’s just genuinely interested in learning/mastering something new . . .
. . . and has time to kill before it is officially time to join The Staff.
. . . and has time to kill before it is officially time to join The Staff.
Just cant envision DT in MMA. I think he will make an outstanding wrestling coach after he retires from competition.
From his interview on Westling Changed My Life back in September, I didn’t get the sense DT was in any hurry to jump into the college coaching game, specifically mentioning all the various things he sees Cael having to deal with. I imagine he’s doing well financially with his club and wife’s juice business.
DT in MMA is something I can't see and wouldn't want to see. He just doesn't seem like the type to want to do it or someone who would be good at MMA. Sure, his wrestling would be the best there is but he doesn't strike me as a striker.
All the embed links from everywhere are failing, Instagram, Youtube, etc. It's a Rivals thing.
Makes more sense. 2FA for Twitter was down yesterday, so my point still stands, hah.
Well that would make sense. Rivals was upgrading late last. IT upgrades or maintenance seem to come with multiple issues anymore, and not just with Rivals.
I don’t like it. David was everything that world champions are made of. Sincere, focused, dedicated, a teacher, a role model and mentor and most importantly humane. We all saw these elements since day one. He’s simply a winner. We’d all give our left nut to have a son like him. Bravo, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Why trade that legacy for anything in this world? The great ones stay true to their mission. They understand a Trojan Horse that money can be. See it through to the conclusion.
Why trade that all for a couple of dollars more? Especially for cage fighting. I can’t think of a sport more inhumane. Kick, punch, scratch, bite and tear…. For what? The Romans already proved this sport of gladiators was part of their cultural rot. . Et too?
Heroes are hard to find in these times. David is a hero to many, many of us. Why dive into the gutters of street fighting?
Some will disagree and say “Do do you feel the same way about Bo?” Two entirely different scenarios. With David in place, Bo has no clear path to the same destination. He is fending for himself. He’s a survivor. But I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that if David could help his buddy in some way, he’d do anything. And, I’d suspect Bo is doing somethings to protect his very good friend, David.
So let me get off my soapbox. These two are the epitome of friendship and teammates. Could Grant have been Grant without Sheridan? Could Maris have been Maris without Mantle? Tracy and Hepburn! Or Rogers and Astaire? And where would we all be without the love and support of others? Everyone of us needs a teammate. I only wish these two the best through the rest of their long lives.
Written by someone who has ridden the earth 70+ times around the sun and still doesn’t understand any of this.
Why trade that all for a couple of dollars more? Especially for cage fighting. I can’t think of a sport more inhumane. Kick, punch, scratch, bite and tear…. For what? The Romans already proved this sport of gladiators was part of their cultural rot. . Et too?
Heroes are hard to find in these times. David is a hero to many, many of us. Why dive into the gutters of street fighting?
Some will disagree and say “Do do you feel the same way about Bo?” Two entirely different scenarios. With David in place, Bo has no clear path to the same destination. He is fending for himself. He’s a survivor. But I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that if David could help his buddy in some way, he’d do anything. And, I’d suspect Bo is doing somethings to protect his very good friend, David.
So let me get off my soapbox. These two are the epitome of friendship and teammates. Could Grant have been Grant without Sheridan? Could Maris have been Maris without Mantle? Tracy and Hepburn! Or Rogers and Astaire? And where would we all be without the love and support of others? Everyone of us needs a teammate. I only wish these two the best through the rest of their long lives.
Written by someone who has ridden the earth 70+ times around the sun and still doesn’t understand any of this.
"Scratch, bite and tear"? None of those have anything to do with MMA. I have seen those things done in wrestling matchs though about as often as MMA. Those people get kicked out.
I don't disagree with most of what you said but maybe DT just found out how much Bo Nickal just signed for. UFC made Askren rich(er) and he only won a single fight
"Scratch, bite and tear" all sounds like a match AB had against Nelson Brands.
I agree. Most people fight to make money and because it’s the next thing for them. DT is going to be a better coach than he is wrestler. Ask anyone around the m2 program. I really think if Cael ever steps down DT is the man for the job
I am sick and tired of most people suggesting MMA after wrestling. Most of these same people have never been punched or kicked a day in their life. MMA is absolutely brutal and not for every wrestler. If it is your passion and that is what you want to do then that is fine. But for a guy like Taylor or anyone who considers doing MMA just to do it or to make money, they are in for a rude awakening. David Taylor is 100% not built for MMA. Not even close. He would get embarrassed by the first decent fighter. I do not care how much he trained either, DT is not a fighter, he is a wrestler. Just like Askren was never a boxer or striker.
DT has a great career of him being a club coach and a coach for PSU someday maybe? Use your brains for something better other than getting punched or it kicked.
DT has a great career of him being a club coach and a coach for PSU someday maybe? Use your brains for something better other than getting punched or it kicked.
Could Grant have been Grant without Sheridan? Could Maris have been Maris without Mantle? Tracy and Hepburn! Or Rogers and Astaire?
How could you leave these guys out?
Obligatory post pointing out that Askren had a VERY successful MMA career, going 19-0 until his mid-30s with titles (and many title defenses) in both Bellator and ONE Championship. His 19th win was a 1st round submission of Robbie Lawler in the UFC.
I agree the physiology associated with throwing a powerful punch isn't quite the same as that which an elite wrestler has optimized their body. And DT is a good looking fellow, so I don't know why he or Kendra would want to put his face in harm's way.
But let DT pursue his happiness as he sees fit. It's one of his inalienable rights.
I believe he could've just as easily been filling air with a topic that might garner a few clicks. Then again, one typically thinks something before they speak it, and speak it before doing.
But let DT pursue his happiness as he sees fit. It's one of his inalienable rights.
I believe he could've just as easily been filling air with a topic that might garner a few clicks. Then again, one typically thinks something before they speak it, and speak it before doing.
You may be right but you are still just speculating and really have no idea.
What proof do you have that David Taylor will not be a great fighter? He has tremendous heart and a gas tank that few, if any, can match. What proof do you have that his striking / chin will be on the same (low) level of Askren? David Taylor will be starting out as the most decorated wrestler ever to enter MMA. Once he learns jiu jitsu (which I assume will come easily to him), he will dominate almost anyone once they get to the mat. Merely serviceable standup and a decent chin will put him in contention for the title. I understand that he probably has never trained in boxing but he is an elite athlete and he may be able to pick it up quite easily.
Just curious, do you speculate that Bo will have the same issues?
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That said, DT has certainly earned the right to do whatever the heck he wants. I'd root for him--even if I don't watch his fights, because I generally don't like watching fights, and especially so when I am attached to one of the competitors.
But I definitely didn't take that video as a confirmation that DT is going to go in that direction--it looks like he's just trying to figure out what's next for him. Gotta be tough for such a goal-driven person to figure out what the next one should be after a lifetime of building to that one (Oly Gold).
And how about Moe and Curley? Martin and Lewis? We all need teammates!Could Grant have been Grant without Sheridan? Could Maris have been Maris without Mantle? Tracy and Hepburn! Or Rogers and Astaire?
How could you leave these guys out?
I don't really see any connection between MMA and DT getting kicked in the head, being dazed (as opposed to knocked out), taking injury time to recover, and then coming back and winning as some sort of proof point of anything.
Even a veteran boxer might get dazed from such a kick. Likewise David might react differently if hit with that very same kick if it were to come in a wrestling match vs an MMA bout.
Look at all the writhing on the ground pussies as if their skin had just been peeled off their bodies. Oh the drama and the screams uttered in professional basketball and soccer, by top athelets in those sports. It's cultural. Throw any of those same players on a football field or onto an ice hockey rink and they would learn that shit don't fly here within the first 5 minutes of a game. Two months later they would either be hardened for the support or gone.
There is a huge difference in getting time to recover and your opponent immediately pounding on a dazed opponent and the ref. stopping the match within the next 10 seconds. There is a good change DT suffers a knockout in that match after that kick if it were MMA.
Generally, I agree that no wrestler (Bo included) has really tested his jaw, until he has his head nearly taken off in a live match. Bo and DT may or may not have a glass jaw, and neither they nor we will know it until tested in live action.
True strikers, especially with a strong boxing background have been hit in the cranium hundreds of times. Boxers who have a glass jaw have been weeded out of the sport very earlier in their careers despite any demonstrated skill and quickness for the art of boxing. So what is left over are guys who can generally take it on the chin. For wrestlers maybe only 10% have what is needed to survive sustained pounding to the head and persevere.
I have warmed to the idea of Bo in MMA, truth be told I wish he gave freestyle a good 3-4 years or so, as I think he could have been a world & Olympic champ someday.
As for David, I think his mentally is a bit different than Bo. I lean towards his not being as successful as Bo will likely be in MMA. I am good with what he has already done in competitive sports, and hope he moves on to coaching once his free career winds down.
You seem to do well enough arguing w/ yourself--so I'll just leave you to it.
For the record, I totally agree that one incident could have been a fluke. Who knows, maybe DT winds up being a UFC champ or something. But that didn't look like too heavy of a hit, and it definitely incapacitated him for long enough for a fighter to end the fight, if it was one.
Just guessing. With Bo's building right next door and ample opportunity to get head tapped by Bo, Anthony or a few others that are in and out of that building I would think DT has at least an idea of what it would require to be successful.
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