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The overwhelming expectations for the U.S. men’s freestyle wrestling team came to a disappointing end at the 2024 Olympics following a loss by Kyle Snyder in his bronze medal match at 97kg.

Snyder fell to Iranian Amirali Azarpira by a score of 4-1, which was the first time the former Ohio State wrestler failed to win a medal during competition at the Olympics or the World Championships of wrestling. The 28-year-old athlete, who won gold back in 2016, struggled to gain any momentum after a cut opened on his forehead during an early exchange, which led to multiple stoppages throughout the match so doctors could tend to the gash.

Snyder’s loss ended the U.S. men’s freestyle competition in 2024 with a lackluster showing after all six weight classes were represented with high hopes for multiple gold medal wins.

Instead, the U.S. men’s freestyle team has to go home licking their wounds after failing to win a gold medal for the first time in 56 years and only capturing three total medals in 2024 after winning five in 2020.

The outstanding performance at the Tokyo games, which actually took place in 2021 due to the global pandemic, put the Americans at the top of the sport. Gold medal wins by Gable Steveson at 125kg and David Taylor at 86kg plus claiming medals in five out of the six weight classes had many believing that the U.S. team could do even better in 2024.

“I truly believe we can bring back six gold medals in men’s freestyle, which would be pretty remarkable,” Taylor told MMA Fighting prior to the Olympics after his career ended with a pair of losses to Penn State standout Aaron Brooks at the U.S. Olympic team trials. “This team is prepared.”

Taylor passed the torch to Brooks, who was a four-time NCAA champion, but he ultimately left Paris with a bronze medal after a stunning upset in the semifinals against Magomed Ramazanov from Bulgaria.

Out of the three medals won by the United States, only Spencer Lee managed to make it to the finals in his weight class at 57kg but he suffered a tough loss to Rei Higuchi from Japan.

Kyle Dake joined Brooks as the other bronze medal winner from the U.S. men’s freestyle team after he battled back from early struggles to beat Hetik Cabolov from Serbia. Still, Dake definitely wanted to claim Olympic gold after he was heavily favored to make the final match in 2020 and 2024 but he suffered upset losses both years.

Of course, the U.S. team didn’t have Steveson this time around after he opted to bow out of wrestling to first sign with WWE and then trying his hand at football after inking a deal to join the Buffalo Bills. Steveson’s replacement Mason Parris suffered a loss in the opening round at 125kg and then didn’t get pulled back into the repechage rounds, which ended his hopes for at least capturing a bronze medal.

There’s no doubt that the U.S. men’s freestyle team leaves Paris with a lot of work to do before returning for the World Championships and then hoping for a much better result when the Olympics come to Los Angeles in 2028.

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The UFC Apex in Las Vegas played host to Saturday’s UFC Vegas 95: Tybura vs. Spivac 2 fight card. The event was headlined by a heavyweight rematch between eighth-ranked Marcin Tybura and ninth-ranked Serghei Spivac.

The two first fought in February 2020 with Tybura defeating Spivac by unanimous decision. Tybura entered the fight coming off a submission win over Tai Tuivasa. He had won eight of his last ten bouts. Spivac was coming off a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane and was be looking to get back in the win column.  Despite having lost the Tybura before and being ranked lower, Spivac entered the rematch the betting favorite.

Spivac met Tybura in the middle the the octagon at the sound of the opening bell.  He connected with a left hand followed by a right.  Tybura responded with a leg kick.  Spivac quickly closed the distance and looked to get the fight to the ground.  After initially clinching, Spivac moved to take Tybura’s back while standing.  He pulled Tybura to the canvas and delivered right hands.  Tybura reversed the position and gained top position.  

Tybura peppered Spivac with short punches while Spivac worked to control Tybura’s posture.  Spivac quickly isolated an arm and transitioned into an arm bar submission attempt.  Tybura quickly tapped out.  The official time of the finish was 1:44 of the first round.  

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Serghei Spivac might want to be careful what he wishes for.

The Moldovan heavyweight kept his winning ways rolling as he scored his fourth victory in five fights with a quick first-round armbar submission of Marcin Tybura in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 95 main event. Making the moment sweeter for Spivac was that he avenged a loss to Tybura from February 2020, when Spivac was competing in just his third UFC fight.

Fighters on social media were impressed with Spivac’s finishing acumen, especially considering Tybura had never been submitted before. Afterwards, Spivac called for a fight with any heavyweight ranked above him. One answered.

Heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida responded to Spivac’s open challenge, writing, “[Spivac], do you want someone above you in the rankings? I’m here. #7 vs. #8. I want to fight, bro!

“Happy you get the finish early so we can fight soon!”

See more social media reactions from the MMA community below.

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Weidman Reacts
| BJPenn.com

Last night (Sat., Aug. 10, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 95. It was quite possibly the least anticipated event of the year. The main event featured a rematch that nobody really asked for, and half of the card either pulled out or missed weight in the final days. All told, 20 athletes still showed up to put it all on the line, which was always guarantee at least a couple interesting moments … but not much more than that, if we’re being honest.

Let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 95’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Spivac Scores Revenge

Serghei Spivac avenged his 2020 loss to Marcin Tybura in quality fashion. It didn’t last very long, but the Moldovan “Polar Bear” still managed to show off improved hand speed, quality wrestling, and excellent jiu-jitsu in just about half a round. We have never seen Tybura submitted in his professional career, let alone submitted with the classic armbar from full guard.

It’s a quality feather in Spivac’s cap, proof of his improvement and potential alike. At 29 years of age, Spivac isn’t the flashiest Heavyweight prospect, but he might still be able to achieve elite calibre if he continues improving. At the very least, he’s looking at a long career of submitting Heavyweights who cannot grapple at all (Tybura does not fall into that category), which is not a bad way to make a living.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Mariscal Overwhelms Jackson

The co-main event between Chepe Mariscal vs. Damon Jackson was expected to be a highlight, and the duo delivered. Right away, the pace was chaotic, as both grapplers chased takedowns and reversals.

Mariscal’s Judo background proved the difference, allowing him to score a few slick throws when the clinch work threatened to stall out. Additionally, Mariscal separated himself by landing damaging shots in close quarters. Whenever he briefly gained a control position or even just stopped a Jackson shot, Mariscal was bonking his opponent on the nose with surprisingly stiff arm punches.

Those strikes and the rapid pace really wore Jackson down over time. What began as a competitive scrap turned into an utter beatdown at the end of the second. Jackson caught a small second wind in the third and saw the final bell, but Mariscal’s undefeated UFC run continued nevertheless.

He just needs to make weight next time.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

A Tale Of Two BANGER Rounds

Toshiomi Kazama vs. Charalampos Grigoriou was unexpectedly awesome.

Japan’s “Silent Finisher” entered this bout in must-win territory, having lost his first two UFC fights. He started really strong, immediately — and I mean immediately! — getting his wrestling going. On the floor, he showed off his slick transitional grappling, changing positions and attacking submissions at an impressive rate.

Grigoriou was also looking for his first UFC win, and he recognized the first round didn’t go so well. “The Ferocious” New Yorker lived up to his nickname, surging forward with wild swings and flooring Kazama. The beating didn’t stop there, as a barely conscious Kazama absorbed a dozen hard elbows while on the floor.

Kazama wasn’t really there, but somehow, he managed to cling to guard and survive the onslaught. When Grigoriou finally ran out of gas, Kazama threw up a triangle choke and forced his opponent to submit! It was an impressive display of durability after a lovely show of grappling, so while it may not have been the cleanest win possible, it was absolutely memorable.

Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC

Additional Thoughts

• Karol Rosa defeats Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision: Rosa has developed into a rare bright light at 135-pounds, a division I could not possibly care less about overall. That division is seemingly permanently bogged down by the same handful of aging contenders, but Rosa is an exception! At 29 years of age, she’s developing into a true contender with excellent kickboxing and devastating calf kicks. Her last two fights have been a ton of fun, making her a real divisional standout in a way that just wasn’t the case a couple years ago. She brutalized Kianzad, chopping her leg to pieces then opening up gnarly cuts with repeated elbows, scoring a couple takedowns along the way for good measure.
• Youssef Zalal defeats Jarno Errens via second-round rear naked choke (HIGHLIGHTS): “The Moroccan Devil” was one of the biggest favorites on the card, and he looked the part! Right away, Zalal’s movement was making his foe miss while Zalal dug in hard calf kicks. He controlled the exchanges well and timed a takedown beautifully late in the first. As soon as Errens moved to stand, Zalal jumped his back and locked in the body triangle. The choke came soon afterward, securing Zalal his second flawless UFC win of 2024.

For complete UFC Vegas 95: “Tybura vs. Spivac 2” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts