In a recently posted Instagram clip, wrestling champion, and Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs was seen training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Unsurprisingly, he trained no gi and wasn’t seen in a gi but was seen in guard positions, and even did a triangle choke off his back. Other clips showed him applying a Kimura, as well as a rear naked choke.
The post was captioned ‘leveling up’ and also showed him practicing boxing too. Historically, Burroughs has gone on record to reject claims of fighting in MMA due to the head trauma associated with it. Furthermore, due to his status in wrestling, he is already financial stable. Not only this – but at 35 years old, he’s probably too old to start thinking about an MMA career, despite his elite wrestling ability.
At the same time, it’s entirely possible that Burroughs could still carve out a career in BJJ. If he trained seriously and applied his wrestling base to the sport, then there’s no reason why he couldn’t attempt to reinvent himself as a no-gi competitor. Of course, there would be a steep learning curve focused on playing guard and learning submissions. Nonetheless, as he’s a literal Olympic champion – this shouldn’t be too difficult compared to the average joe.
Regardless, the likelihood is that this was just a case of Burroughs trying something different and choosing to document it. So, although it would be fun to see him switch to BJJ, the likelihood is that this won’t be happening anytime soon and the chance of him going into MMA is probably even lower.
