Back in January, FloSports which has been an innovator in live digital sports and original content partnered with USA Wrestling which is the national governing body for wrestling in this country as they announced the launch of a new competition titled Final X. In this competition, the top men’s and women’s freestyle wrestlers will compete in a best-of-three series to earn their spot on the U.S senior world team with the opportunity to compete at this year’s World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary on October 20-28. Final X is set to be held over the course of three consecutive weekends beginning Saturday, June 9th in Lincoln Nebraska, followed by June 16th at State College, Pennsylvania, and then finally June 23rd in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The matchups for Final X have been set, and we are in store for some great matches with interesting stories that are sure to make for a great event. Let’s take a look at some of the key matchups in this year’s Final X competition.
57 kg Men’s Freestyle – Thomas Gilman vs. Daton Fix
Kicking things off on June 9th in Lincoln, we will see the battle of the lightweights at the 57 kg weight class featuring Thomas Gilman of Iowa against Daton Fix of Oklahoma. Gilman, who is a returning silver medalist at the 2017 World Championships received an automatic bid to Final X. Fix, on the other hand, qualified for the event by winning this year’s World Team Trials Qualifier where he defeated two-time World Team Member Tony Ramos (the same man Gilman defeated last year to qualify for the World Team). Both Fix and Ramos have been proving themselves to be dominating forces at the senior level.
Last year, Gilman ran through the 57 kg bracket in the US to qualify for the World Championships where he went on and put on a show making his way to the finals. He, unfortunately, was defeated 6-0 by Yuki Takahashi, but, he proved that he has a bright future. Fix, while just coming off of his true-freshman season in college, is already showing he will also be a force to be reckoned with. He has proven himself on the World Stage previously at both the Cadet and Junior Levels as he earned gold at the 2017 Junior World Championships along with a bronze finish at the 2016 event, and another bronze in the 2015 Cadet World Championships.
74 kg Men’s Freestyle – Jordan Burroughs vs. Isaiah Martinez
Another big matchup for the June 9th Final X event in Lincoln will be Jordan Burroughs making his return to the home of his alma mater as he takes on Isaiah Martinez for the spot at the 74 kg weight class. Burroughs, as a returning World medalist also earned an automatic bid to the event, where Martinez won the World Team Trials to qualify. Year after year, Jordan Burroughs continues to prove himself as the best wrestler not just at his weight, but pound for pound all over the world. This year he is looking for his eighth consecutive berth to a World Championship. In his past seven appearances, he has won six medals, including gold medals at the World championships in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, and a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Martinez just wrapped up his collegiate career where he was four-time NCAA finalist and two-time champion. He is proving that he can be a threat at the senior level, however, can he pull off what would be an upset against Burroughs and show that his time has arrived? We’ll find out June 9th.
97 kg Men’s Freestyle – Kyle Snyder vs. Kyven Gadson
This match has been labeled as the Black Panther vs. Captain America. On June 9th in Lincoln, Nebraska, Kyle Snyder will take on Kyven Gadson for the Men’s freestyle spot at 97 kg. Coming off a World Championship at last year’s World’s, Snyder earned his automatic bid, and Gadson qualified by winning the World Team Trials. Ever since breaking out onto the Senior level, Kyle Snyder has proven to be one of, if not the most feared wrestler in the country. In 2015, he became the youngest American to win a World Title in wrestling at the age of 19. He followed that up with a gold place finish at the 2016 Olympic Games becoming the youngest American wrestler to win an Olympic title. Gadson, who is a former NCAA champion has also been proving himself at the Senior level. He took first place at the 2017 U.S Open Championships and as five international medals to his credit as well. The only thing left for Gadson to accomplish at this level is to make the U.S World Team, and he’ll have that opportunity if he can get past the monster roadblock that is Kyle Snyder.
Other Key Match-Ups
79 kg Men’s Freestyle – Kyle Dake vs. Zahid Valencia (Final X- State College June 16th)
86 kg Men’s Freestyle – David Taylor vs. Nick Reenan (Final X- State College June 16th)
76 kg Women’s Freestyle – Adeline Gray vs. Korinahe Bullock (Final X- State College June 16th)
125 kg Men’s Freestyle – Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Adam Coon (Final X- Bethlehem, PA June 23rd)
57 kg Women’s Freestyle – Helen Maroulis vs. Alex Hedrick (Final X- Bethlehem, PA June 23rd)
