UFC Tonight analysts Chael Sonnen and Kenny Florian lay down the verbal hammer on the US Wrestling Committee, FILA, and the IOC. Chael’s insider knowledge of the wrestling world paints a bleak picture for MMA’s closest Olympic cousin.
“How do you get rid of wrestling? It is the oldest sport in existence and in no walk of society can you tell me that seniority does not matter. Nothing can date itself back as far as wrestling. They didn’t have bikes, they didn’t have balls, and they didn’t have bats: They were pushing and pulling on one another. We have an idiocracy known as FILA (Federation Internationale des Luttes Associees) that has ruined the sport. We have two knuckleheads – who you couldn’t trust to run your local donut shop – regulating our sport of wrestling. At the same time – is this a surprise? Though it’s disappointing, no it isn’t. It’s basic science: the number-one rule in biology is that you either evolve or you become extinct. It’s over, guys. It’s not over in 2020 – it’s over in 2016. Here are the facts they’re not telling you: Wrestling in this country is supported by the United States Olympic Committee. That ATM is going to close the second they roll up the mat in 2016. We’ve got three and a half years left. It’s over, prepare the eulogy.”
