Wave of the Future?

Brenton Prtichett had a plan: Get into wrestling to get stronger for football. Seems like a good idea. Others have done it, and the benefits are obvious. Now the Southeast sophomore has a new plan for his future - and it goes beyond the traditional thinking of football and wrestling. "I'm definitely open to new things,'' said Pritchett, who is one of the state's top heavyweight wrestlers. "I'm still thinking football and I'm still thinking wrestling. But if those things don't work out for me, there's always MMA.'' Yes there is. College, and possibly, for the very, select few, the Olympics, were considered the end of a wrestler's career, but now, with the absolute boom in popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, there are suddenly more options out there. Consider MMA the next level, and consider there are plenty of high school wrestlers who are thinking about it. Has high school wrestling become the breeding ground for the next wave of MMA fighters? MMA is a full-contact, high-energy contact sport that combines techniques from boxing, wrestling and martial arts. You can kick, punch, trip. You can can fight standing or on the ground. Thanks to Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest MMA promotion in the world, which started in 1993, MMA fights are anticipated more than boxing, more appealing than wrestling, and start and finish quicker than any other traditional TV sport giving viewers a winner and a loser in a matter of minutes. All of which makes MMA wildly popular, not only nationally, but locally. MMA fights are regularly scheduled all over the state and the popularity of the sport has become saturated with a number of Oklahoma fighters with extensive wrestling backgrounds. "Kids are getting into MMA because it's the hottest thing going,'' said Ron Tripp, a former world champion wrestler and President of USA Judo. Tripp also promotes C3Fights, based out of Oklahoma City, which features a number of Oklahoma MMA stars such as former El Reno wrestlers Brandon Shelton, Kevin Frazier and Nathan James. "You see Sam Bradford and you might want to be a quarterback,'' Tripp said. "Now the hottest thing is MMA and kids look at it, and some kids see a place where they could fit in.'' Fitting in used to mean wrestling in high school and maybe college. Now, fitting in could possibly mean a professional career. "The MMA isn't something I would aspire to do,'' said Guthrie senior wrestler Ryan Bilyeu. "But it's not something I would turn away, either. It could be a short-term opportunity.'' And that's exactly why MMA has exploded in popularity. Not only does Bilyeu, who went 33-4 last season for Guthrie and is a favorite to win state this season, watch MMA fights with his friends, but says he watches the fights and sees a future. "Going pro for me would mean getting an education and becoming a professional engineer,'' he said. "But I can watch those fights, and I like watching them, and see some of my friends doing that stuff.'' That's because MMA seems like a real possibility for a number of people, particularly wrestlers who see that MMA fighters have wrestling backgrounds. And they don't have to look far to see the success, either. Former Edmond wrestler Johny Hendricks of Edmond was a two-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State. Jake Rosholt of Ponca City was a three-time NCAA champ at OSU and Shane Roller, a four-time state champion at Bixby. All three have signed professional MMA contracts "This gives them an opportunity to make immediate money,'' said Jack Roller, who runs World of Wrestling in Bixby, including running the Tulsa Nationals, a major youth wrestling tournament, for the past 29 years. "Before there was no outlet. Now you can go MMA. There are opportunities that are opening through MMA that are enhancing lots of other sports. Now, a lot of these guys can achieve goals beyond just college.'' The money is there. The opportunity is there. The excitement is there. And is that such a good thing? "I don't know if high school wrestling is really the first step for MMA fighters,'' said Archie Randall, former wrestling coach at El Reno who is now at Oklahoma City University. "I don't know if it's good or not. I'm waiting to see.'' So are others. And make no mistake, they are watching. And because of that, high school wrestling could see an increase in participation. "I think MMA is a good thing because it will get kids involved in high school and youth wrestling,'' said Jack Roller. "It gives kids promise and hope that they can do something else.'' But for now, and for some, even Prtichett and Yukon's Corey Duncan, a state championship in wrestling is still important. MMA could come later. "To me, I want to win state,'' said Duncan, who has offers from Oklahoma City University and Mesa State University to wrestle next season. "I don't know if MMA interests me. I don't know that I would rule it out, either. If I feel like I need to prove something after high school and college, maybe I would get involved.'' And whether or not high school wrestling will increase in popularity because of MMA has yet to be seen. But folks are talking about it. "There's kids who are out there, not a bunch who are wrestling because of MMA,'' said Carl Albert coach Faye Barnett. "Before there was the Olympics, and that was it for wrestling. Now there's a career choice.''