The Kit Carson Cup was supposed to be a glorious beginning for the Joe Warren return to wrestling tour. Instead it was a day he would probably like to forget. The wrestler turned MMA fighter made his return to Greco-Roman on Saturday and dropped his only two bouts.
Originally Warren was supposed to wrestle four times. After going 0-2 in the morning session, he pulled out of his next two matches. In his first match he dropped a two-period decision to China’s Jiang Sheng 1-0, 2-2. Sheng placed thirteenth at the 2004 Olympic games and returned for the 2008 games.
Warren returned and dropped another match to Ryutaro Matsumoto of Japan. He lost the first period 3-0 and the second 1-0.
The 2006 world champion wishes to compete in both MMA and wrestling. However could Saturday’s result force him to concentrate on a single sport?
Before the event Greco-Roman national team coach Steve Fraser said about Warren, “The challenge will be for Joe to put in enough training in Greco. He is currently trying to do both MMA and wrestling, and this presents a big challenge.”
Sengoku prospect Liu Deli of China also had a rough day. Like Warren, he lost his first two matches and did not finish the day. In his first match, Brandon Rupp pinned the 2008 Olympian. Then Dremiel Byers, the 2009 world silver medalist, won 1-0, 1-0.
The event, which featured dual matches between four U.S. teams and four internationl teams, did not have an official winner. However, the team from Uzbekistan went a perfect 4-0 on the day and was the only undefeated team.
Team Records
Uzbekistan 4-0
USA (NY Athletic Club) 3-1
Japan 3-1
USA (Army) 2-2
Bulgaria 2-2
China 1-3
USA (Sunkist/Minnesota Storm) 1-3
USA (Junior/University) 0-4
Full Results (Here)
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