Iowa
UFC to sponsor both Iowa men’s and women’s wrestling programs
The Iowa males’s and girls’s wrestling packages will now be sponsored by one of many world’s premier combined martial arts group.
The Iowa Athletics Division, at the side of its multimedia rights holder Learfield’s Hawkeye Sports activities Properties, introduced Thursday that the Final Preventing Championship will function a sponsor for each wrestling packages.
“The partnership between Iowa wrestling and UFC is an ideal match,” Iowa males’s wrestling coach Tom Manufacturers mentioned in a launch. “We each have fun robust, bodily athletes who compete on the highest degree.
“There’s a bridge between wrestlers and fighters throughout the 2 sports activities. With this settlement, it’s much more important.”
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That is the primary faculty sponsorship for the UFC, the world’s largest MMA promotion firm. The deal contains UFC indicators inside Carver-Hawkeye Area, ads on wrestling radio broadcasts, plus visibility on Iowa’s official social platforms.
The UFC selected Iowa due to the custom and historical past of the boys’s program, which has led the nation in attendance every year since 2007 and has received 24 NCAA staff titles, and to help the primary Division I Energy 5 ladies’s wrestling program, which begins competing subsequent 12 months, in 2023-24, beneath head coach Clarissa Chun.
“It’s important that UFC chosen Iowa and its wrestling packages for a first-of-its-kind sponsorship. We’re extraordinarily appreciative of that help,” Chun mentioned in a launch. “Our athletes, and theirs, have a shared bond of coaching and competing at an elite degree.”
MORE:Iowa ladies’s wrestling program provides two extra commitments as second recruiting class takes form
One in all Chun’s wrestlers, Bella Mir, has dabbled in MMA, with a 3-0 skilled file earlier than becoming a member of the Iowa ladies’s program this fall. She’s additionally discovered success in jiu jitsu, one other combined martial artwork, along with her wrestling profession. Her father, Frank Mir, is a two-time UFC heavyweight champ and 16-year MMA veteran.
“We’re proud to help the Iowa Hawkeyes’ males’s and girls’s wrestling packages,” Lawrence Epstein, UFC Chief Working Officer, mentioned in a launch. “Lots of the greatest UFC athletes have been expert and skilled collegiate wrestlers.
“Wrestling offers a wonderful basis of athleticism, self-discipline, willpower, and respect that’s wanted to have a profitable MMA profession. We’re trying ahead to seeing the Hawkeyes proceed their custom of excellence and sportsmanship and compete for NCAA championships for a few years to return.”
Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and highschool sports activities for the Des Moines Register. Observe him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“I think for Payton we all have an expectation, you know, when your best player comes back and lead the league in made threes, well, he’s going to make more threes and he’s going to get more rebounds.
“The thing I’ve been impressed with is he was a really good rebounder last year. He’s a special offensive rebounder.
“A lot of shooters just don’t do that. They hang around on the perimeter, and that’s that. Throw me the ball, and I’ll shoot it in the hole for you.
“He does that, but he’s done more off the dribble. He’s done more passing to open people and reading situations, which is what you would expect from a senior.
“Think about him. Freshman year he played a lot. He was on the Big Ten Championship team. Sophomore year, Rookie of the Year in the league. Last year led the league in made threes, was an All-League player.
“Now, I think how do you go from being a second- or third-team All-League player to first-team? Obviously it’s consistency of effort and performance, and he is going to work harder.”
Back in the offseason, the assumption was that Seth McLaughlin would win the starting center job after transferring from Alabama. Not only did he win that job but so far this season, he has played quite well.
This is certainly a welcome sight after the Ohio State Buckeyes struggled with offensive line consistency in 2023 and McLaughlin himself had a down year with the Crimson Tide.
Through the non-conference schedule and two Big Ten Conference games, the pairing has been perfect for both parties. The experienced center has been a strong addition in the trenches and will look to continue to be a dominant force throughout the rest of the season.
Just how dominant has McLaughlin been?
In the win against the Iowa Hawkeyes, McLaughlin actually posted the highest grade of any center in the country during week six according to Pro Football Focus. His 78.6 mark is an excellent grade, yet not surprising considering how solid he has been in the middle.
Highest Graded Center from Week 6:
🔴 Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State: 78.6@OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/NNZY3D6Vc2
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 7, 2024
Not only has McLaughlin been solid this season, but the rest of the offensive line has played quite well. Against the Oregon Ducks, McLaughlin, Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Fryar will all need to be at their best. It seems like they have been at their best to this point, however, this will be the toughest test yet for the whole team.
If this unit can enforce physicality in the run game and give Will Howard time to operate on Saturday, then not only might McLaughlin grade high with PFF once again, but the rest of the unit may fair pretty well.
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