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Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs opened up about why he decided against becoming an MMA fighter after his decorated wrestling career.

Josh Hokit, Bo Nickal, and Gable Steveson are just a few former collegiate wrestling standouts who have made the successful transition from the mats to the cage. All three of them have found success in the UFC, including Steveson’s highly anticipated debut earlier this year at UFC 329.

But one of freestyle wrestling’s greatest combatants, Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, never leaped despite years of speculation that he would compete in MMA. Now 38 years old, Burroughs’ time competing at a high level is running out, but he remains active in Real American Freestyle.

According to Burroughs, it was one of the most difficult decisions of his life, although he doesn’t hold any regrets.

Jordan Burroughs explains why MMA move never came to fruition

In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Burroughs was pressed on why he never followed in the footsteps of several freestyle wrestling greats.

“I heavily considered it,” Burroughs said about transitioning to MMA.

“One of the hardest parts about growing older is that you have to let dreams die. There are certain things that, when you’re young and when you’re hungry, you believe you can do it all. But as you get older, you start to realize that ‘Man, this may have passed for me’. At the heart of why I wanted to go to MMA was the glamour. It was the celebrities ringside; it was the big paydays. Global recognition; it wasn’t the purity of it.

“Being a Christian… I thought that transition would be more about what I could get and who I could become, and I just don’t think it would have been good for my faith, for my family, or for my marriage,” Burroughs continued. “That lifestyle would not have been healthy for a family man.”

How would Jordan Burroughs do as a UFC fighter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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