The Olympics are seen as the pinnacle of sporting competition, with the four-yearly event holding more prestige globally than any other athletic endeavor. While success on that grand stage is a clear indicator of skill, discipline, and commitment, it doesn’t automatically denote success for its alumni when they move into other realms of their careers.

Mixed martial arts has proven to be a tough next step for even elite Olympians, but some have successfully made the transition into the all-encompassing world of combat, including the UFC

. These Olympic athletes have switched to MMA and won silverware in leading promotions.

10

Mark Coleman

Olympic Wrestler And Pioneering UFC Champion

• Coleman competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
• He finished in seventh place overall in freestyle wrestling.
• He went on to win world titles in both the UFC and Pride.

Mark “The Hammer” Coleman was one of the first world-class wrestlers who truly made an impact on the MMA landscape. The NCAA Division I champion went to the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992 but lost his spark for the 1996 trials and switched his focus.

He had immediate success with one-night tournament wins at UFC 10 and UFC 11, before becoming the first-ever UFC heavyweight champion with a win over Dan Severn at UFC 12. Coleman went on to win the Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix Tournament and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008.

9

Kevin Jackson

Olympic Champion With Short In-Cage Career

• Kevin Johnson won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
• He had a brief MMA career that lasted just 14 months.
• He later went on to become an elite wrestling coach.

Kevin Jackson was a top-tier wrestler who saw a brief but exciting opportunity to put his skills to the test in a new sport. After winning gold in the 82kg division at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, the American added a second world championship to his resume in 1995, before his foray into fighting.

He debuted in Extreme Fighting in 1997 and then won the UFC 14 Light Heavyweight Tournament in July of that year. In May of 1998, Jackson had his final fight – a win over Sam Adkins – and left the sport with a 4-2 record.

8

Dan Henderson

One Of The Most Decorated MMA Fighters Of All Time

• Henderson competed in both the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.
• He won significant titles across multiple organizations throughout his career.
• He remains the only double champion in Pride history.

Though he was known for his laid-back demeanor outside the cage, inside of it, Dan Henderson was a generational force. “Hendo” placed 10th and 12th respectively for Team USA at the Summer Olympics of 1992 and 1996, and by 1997 he was competing in the UFC.

Henderson won the Brazil Open 1997 Tournament that year and followed it up with the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament in 1998. He went on to become a favorite in Japan by defeating stern opposition to win back-to-back Rings tournaments, which led to a shot in Pride FC.

In 2005, the Greco-Roman specialist won the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix and the Pride Welterweight Championship, and then won the Pride Middleweight Championship in 2007 with a KO over Wanderlei Silva. Henderson challenged twice for UFC gold before taking the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title in 2011.

7

Hector Lombard

Cuban Judo Stylist And Globetrotting Champion

• Hector Lombard moved to Australia after competing in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• He went on to compete in major promotions including Bellator, UFC, and Strikeforce.
• He became known as a feared knockout artist with 23 KOs in 35 wins.

Originally forging his skills in Cuba, Hector Lombard represented his home country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He met his wife there and stayed in Australia, where he started his MMA career in 2004.

Lombard dominated locally and had brief forays in Japan, but his career really took off when he signed for Bellator in 2009. He blasted his way through the competition to win the Bellator Season 1 Middleweight Tournament and the inaugural Bellator Middleweight World Championship.

With a stunning record of 32-2-1, Lombard signed for the UFC, where he had an entertaining but turbulent time in the Octagon.

6

Rick Hawn

Olympic Judoka And Early Bellator Icon

• Rick Hawn competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
• He transitioned to MMA in 2009.
• He went on to win multiple tournaments in Bellator.

Taking up judo at the age of 12, Rick Hawn was a prodigious talent who also showed his athleticism by also competing in both wrestling and football. He committed full-time to judo when he left high school in 1996, joining the Olympic Training Center. He headed to the 2004 games in Athens, where he placed 9th.

After failing to qualify for 2008, Hawn took his skill set to MMA. He was extremely successful on the regional circuit and signed with a then-burgeoning Bellator promotion. Hawn won the season six lightweight tournament in 2012 and the season 9 welterweight tournament in 2013, though he never managed to convert that success into undisputed gold.

5

Daniel Cormier

Elite Wrestler, Fighter, And Now Pundit

• Daniel Cormier was considered world-class in the amateur wrestling ranks.
• He narrowly missed winning a medal at the Olympics.
• He later became a two-division UFC champion and also held a title in Strikeforce.

Daniel Cormier is another one of wrestling’s biggest crossover success stories. The AKA man had a huge amount of success nationally and internationally, which culminated in fourth place at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He wanted to improve on that in 2008 but was forced to withdraw due to health issues.

This saw Cormier move into MMA, where he raced to a 15-0 start that included winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament in 2012. He moved to the UFC in 2013,

where he became a household name
, winning and defending the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.

4

Ben Askren

Collegiate Great With Memorable MMA Career

• Ben Askren was regarded as a great in folkstyle wrestling.
• He transitioned to freestyle wrestling for his Olympic run.
• He brought a unique and unorthodox style to the cage.

“Funky” Ben Askren earned his moniker for his inimitable style on the mats, where he held a stunning college resume. The Iowa-born star was one of a rare few to win the coveted Dan Hodge Trophy multiple times as he took a pair of NCAA championships.

His game was heavily based on the folkstyle rule set, though he managed to adapt enough to get to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“Funky” debuted in MMA the following year, winning the Bellator Season 2 Welterweight Tournament and Bellator Welterweight Title in 2010. He switched to ONE Championship in 2014, where he dominated as the promotion’s champion until he signed to the UFC.

3

Ronda Rousey

Women’s MMA Superstar From High-Level Judo Background

• Ronda Rousey won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.
• She went on to become a dominant UFC champion.
• She played a pivotal role in changing the game for women’s mixed martial arts.

“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey started her judo training with her mother, a former world champion. The young California native went on to record similar feats in the sport, with a world silver medal and an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. Leaving the sport at 21, Rousey moved into MMA and was an absolute phenom. She went undefeated as an amateur between 2010-2011 and kickstarted her pro career with 12 straight wins en route to the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Notably, Rousey finished her first 11 amateur and pro bouts via armbar before finding some success with her striking. Rousey was the first female UFC champion and a huge PPV draw that paved the way for the next generation of elite women in the organization.

2

Henry Cejudo

Known As “Triple C” For Olympic And MMA Championship Success

• Henry Cejudo won an Olympic gold medal in 2008.
• He later became a two-division UFC champion.
• He is widely regarded as one of the greats in combat sports.

Henry Cejudo will go down as one of the greatest combat athletes in modern history. The self-titled “Triple C” opted to pursue freestyle wrestling over the popular collegiate variant, and it paid off with success.

At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Cejudo became the youngest American to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal at the age of 21, though he failed to qualify for a second shot in 2012. That’s when he moved to MMA in 2013, racing to a perfect 10-0 start. Though he lost in his first shot at the

UFC flyweight title against Demetrious Johnson
in 2016, he defeated “Mighty Mouse” in 2018 to get the strap.

Cejudo followed that up with a win for the UFC bantamweight title in 2018, which he vacated with a retirement win over Dominick Cruz in 2020.

1

Kayla Harrison

Two-Time Olympic Champion And MMA Standout

• Kayla Harrison won Olympic gold in judo in both 2012 and 2016.
• She made the move to MMA in 2018.
• She went on to win two tournament titles in the PFL.

As the only American judoka to ever win an Olympic gold – and she’s done it twice – Kayla Harrison is one of the best judo players to ever come out of the USA. The Ohio-born athlete won the judo world championships in 2010 and added London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic golds to her heaving trophy cabinet.

Immediately a huge draw when she decided to move into MMA, Harrison debuted with PFL in 2018, where she won the 2019 and 2021 women’s lightweight tournaments.

Now riding high in the UFC
, the grappling specialist could be on course to add more huge accolades in the future.