On one side was David Taylor’s All-American. On the other side was a Freshman from Texas who had big shoes to fill. His brother is AJ Ferrari, the 2021 NCAA Champion, the 2-time All-American who needs no introduction. Angelo Ferrari was stepping on the mat with expectations. And from what we have seen so far, it’s another Ferrari brother who looks destined to deliver medal glory.

Which is why the latest news has come as a shock to all wrestling fans. Shocking and disappointing. From what we are hearing, Angelo Ferrari is interested in sticking to wrestling once his NCAA commitments are over. Wrestling world insider GlobalWrestOrder dropped the update on their X handle on August 26. And the way they put it, you could feel the pain of an unfulfilled potential. “One of USA’s greatest talents – that international fans may never get to see 🇺🇸🐤👀,” the tweet started.

And the big reveal came thereafter. “Sources tell me that Angelo FERRARI (IOWA) is not interested in freestyle, and plans for a UFC career after college wrestling.” Just when we were starting to dream. Angelo Ferrari’s first year at the Hawkeyes was a major success. With an 11-1 record, the younger brother of AJ Ferrari had shown what a force he could be in the 184 lb weight class.

His accolades included wins at the Grand View Open and the Soldier Salute. The 5’8″ wrestler got eight bonus-point wins, including four technical falls. And let’s not forget the huge win over Oklahoma’s Dustin Plott. The AJ Ferrari sibling has been an amazing proponent who has dominated his peers at every level. And with the right guidance, we could have seen a long, successful wrestling career with multiple International medals.

But that’s not how Angelo Ferrari is thinking, apparently. He seems quite seduced by the glam and the raw power of the Octagon. And he isn’t the first. Honestly speaking, we have seen this plotline before, many times.

What AJ Ferrari’s brother may find in the UFC? 

Over the years, NCAA champions and talented amateur wrestlers have made the high-profile transition to UFC. Like Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier, and Bo Nickal, just to name a few. Even most recently, the 2024 Olympic Champion Gable Steveson sent shockwaves in the world of combat sports by announcing his decision to venture into MMA. He is set to debut on September 12.

But why does it keep happening? No, rather the question should be why not? The circumstances really make it one of the very few viable options that wrestlers have who don’t want to go into coaching. The ones who want to keep wrestling even after college and have a viable career, unfortunately, amateur wrestling doesn’t have a solution for them.

In fact, that void is what has given birth to the Real American Freestyle (RAF) Wrestling League, a non-scripted pro wrestling league on similar lines to UFC and WWE. RAF promises a long-term wrestling career, exposure, and, not to mention, a paycheck. In fact, when you compare amateur wrestling and UFC in money terms, it’s not even a contest. UFC kicks wrestling out of the arena.

There’s no fixed pay for wrestlers. They need to depend on sponsorships and endorsements to stay financially viable. And these sponsorships come only for the ones who are good enough to medal. Moreover, there too, the pay isn’t as lucrative as in the UFC. Rarely would you hear an amateur wrestler with the millionaire tag. But, cross over to UFC, and you would see even the entry-level fighters making substantial money,  all thanks to a structure in place that promises a base salary, win bonuses and performance-based incentives.

The mid-level fighters make $100k annually easily, while the top names are breaking the million mark. You can understand that wrestling can’t compete with the kind of dough that UFC is promising. Maybe this is the biggest issue wrestling has to address.