Cowboy RTC Star Helps Out UFC’s Khamzat Chimaev After Featherweight Fighter’s Spar With David Taylor

Besides putting Oklahoma State back in the top three wrestling colleges in the NCAA, another thing that David Taylor brought to Cowboy RTC was variety. Recently, the OSU Cowboys had a one-of-a-kind dual against China as they’re hosting them for a month. Yes, that’s the Chinese national wrestling team, which had Olympians, and the OSU boys won most of the matches.

However, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Way back in January, when David Taylor and Co. trained and sparred with UFC featherweight Diego Lopes. “Amazing 10 days of training!! Thanks, @magicmanosu and @cowboywrestling @cowboy.rtc, for having me and helping me become a better person and athlete. See you soon,” said Lopes. And now, Khamzat Chimaev has linked up with the Cowboys.

The 4-time state champion and 2-time NCAA champion was helping Chimaev train for his title fight. “Chimaev (#3 MW, #14 P4P) fights Dricus du Plessis for the Middleweight title on August 16 at UFC 319,” Saturday Night Lights added in their post. The clip showed Roman Bravo-Young and Chimaev going through cardio and reflex drills in a park.

While Khamzat Chimaev doing cardio is like the sun rising in the same direction every morning, Cowboy RTC stars training with UFC fighters seems to be turning into a common sight. With that out of the way, you may be asking why Roman Bravo-Young was training with someone above his weight class. Well, that’s because the wrestler is gearing up for a huge challenge.

Cowboy RTC shines ahead of the 2025 World Championships

College wrestlers training with UFC stars and taking on foreign national teams isn’t really the norm. However, David Taylor isn’t sticking to the norms when it comes to training, and he made that clear after his team’s dual with China. “Always trying new things to grow the sport we love. Fun competition this week,” the 34-year-old wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you, Lake Highlands High School, for hosting our inaugural Cowboy RTC Dual vs. China. Follow @cowboy.rtc & @stillyboys for what’s next,” he added. So what’s next? Well, after Cowboy RTC’s deal with China, not one, not two, but five OSU Cowboys will represent the orange brigade in the World Championship.

Rin Sakamoto (Japan, 57 kg), Roman Bravo-Young (Mexico, 57 kg), defending NCAA heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson (USA, 125 kg), and Zahid Valencia (USA, 86 kg) are gearing up to represent their nations and OSU at the upcoming 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, in September. But wait, that’s just four names. So who’s the fifth?

While Cowboy RTC published these names back on June 28, another member of the top NCAA school made it in July. On July 24, David Taylor posted a story revealing that Mirzo Khayitov made it to the World Championship-bound Uzbek national wrestling team. So it’s no wonder Roman Bravo-Young trained with the UFC middleweight ahead of fight week.