David Taylor has accomplished just about everything possible on the mat.
Magicman won the gold medal in the 86kg category at the 2020 Olympics. He has won the NCAA championship twice, the Big Ten championship four times, and the world title three times.
So as the 33-year-old approaches the 2024 Olympics, the former Penn State standout is at least turning his attention to another corner of the combat sports world: MMA.
In an interview with MMAFighting, Taylor said he is considering making the transition to mixed martial arts training, following in the footsteps of Penn State wrestlers-turned-fighters like Bo Niccal, Phil Davis, and Pat Cummins. admitted that he was doing it.
“That door isn't closed.” Taylor told MMAfighting. “I'm interested. Right now my focus is to become an Olympic champion. If that's the case, I'll have to reevaluate and consider the following. MMA is very interesting to me. A lot of wrestlers Talk about it for hype and other reasons, but I spent this past year training.
“I went out to Factory It's not something I can talk about because there are killers out there. But what I did in wrestling won't translate right away. But if I have the will to transition and do it, I can be successful. I believe that door is open. I probably think about it every day.”
Taylor, who previously hinted at a 2022 transfer, is currently focused on the Olympic Trials in State College, where Taylor joins Henry Cejudo, Kevin Jackson and Mark Schultz as the only three Olympians , so just acknowledging the possibility of a transfer is big news. A gold medalist wrestler who competes in MMA.
Taylor's friend Nikkal has had success in the UFC, having just picked up his sixth career win with a win over Cody Brundage at UFC 300, and Nikkal is starting a large MMA camp in the state. The university has a lot of motivation and resources for Taylor to take action.
