Jeff Blatnick

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jeff Blatnick
BornJuly 26, 1957 (1957-07-26)
Niskayuna, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 2012(2012-10-24) (aged 55)
Schenectady, New York, U.S.
High schoolNiskayuna (NY)
State championships1 (New York)
CollegeSpringfield College
Olympic teamUnited States
Olympic medalGold
Medal record
Representing the  United States
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles +100 kg
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 1980 Trelleborg +100 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Albany 130 kg
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  United States
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Las Vegas 100 kg
Junior Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 1979 San Luis Potosí 100 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing Springfield College
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1979 Ames Heavyweight
NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
Gold medal – first place 1978 Cedar Falls Heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 1979 Brookings Heavyweight
Silver medal – second place 1977 Cedar Falls Heavyweight

Jeffrey Carl "Jeff" Blatnick (July 26, 1957 – October 24, 2012) was an American

Greco-Roman wrestler and sports commentator. He won NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championships in 1978 and 1979 and won the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 after battling back from cancer. During his wrestling days, he and Dan Severn
were on the same U.S. National Wrestling Team.

As a commentator, Blatnick worked UFC 4 through UFC 32 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also served as the UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by the athletic commissions, which kept the sport of mixed martial arts alive during its dark ages in the United States at the time.[1][2] Blatnick is among the people credited with giving the sport of mixed martial arts its name.[1][3]

He served as an MMA judge for the New Jersey athletic commission.

Wrestling

Blatnick began his career wrestling in 1973 at

appendix
.

After radiation therapy helped to hold the cancer in remission, Blatnick competed in and won a gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. He and his teammate Steve Fraser were the first Americans to ever win gold in Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling history. Blatnick retired from wrestling after a second round with cancer, which required chemotherapy. He served as a television commentator during the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Blatnick was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999.[5] He served on the board of wrestlers for USA wrestling and was also a commentator for the NCAA Division I wrestling championships.[5]

Mixed martial arts

From 1994 to 2001 for

John McCarthy and then UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, Blatnick created a manual of policies, procedures, codes of conduct and rules, many of which exist to this day. He traveled around the country, educating regulators and changing perceptions about a sport that was thought to be bloodthirsty and inhumane.[5]

By April 2000, Blatnick's efforts had clearly made an impact.[5] California was set to become the first state in the U.S. to sign off on a set of codified rules that governed MMA.[5] Soon after, New Jersey adopted the language.[5] He sat cageside in Atlantic City months later, when UFC held its first event regulated under the unified rules, headlined fittingly by two outstanding wrestlers, Kevin Randleman and Blatnick's favorite fighter, Randy Couture.[5] Blatnick's contributions to the sport of mixed martial arts helped keep the sport alive during its darkest period and helped pave the way for the sport to flourish later in the decade.[1]

Blatnick has also been credited with giving the sport of mixed martial arts its name.[1][3] Nick Lembo, the man who runs the New Jersey athletic control board, wrote, "(Jeff) would urge people to stop calling the sport No Holds Barred, in order to help it grow and gain acceptance."[3] Dave Meltzer added, "No Holds Barred, (Blatnick) said, gave people a bad connotation of what it was, and felt it was a negative. Mixed Martial Arts, the idea of combining techniques from all the various martial arts forms with that of wrestling, was really what the sport was, he would say."[1]

Blatnick authored the Mixed Martial Arts Council Manual and was also licensed as a referee and judge with the New Jersey commission.

A petition was also started on the MMA Underground forum by UFC fighter Shane Carwin for Blatnick to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his contributions to the organization.[6]

On May 20, 2015, it was announced that Blatnick would be inducted into the new contributors wing of the UFC Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport and organization. On July 11, 2015, at the UFC Hall of Fame event in Las Vegas his widow, Lori, accepted the award on Blatnick's behalf. [7]

Death and legacy

Blatnick died on October 24, 2012, as a result of complications from heart surgery. His death sent shock waves through both MMA and wrestling, and resulted in massive outpouring from fans and media in remembrance of Blatnick's life.[8][1] At the time of his death, Blatnick was a varsity wrestling coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, and also worked as a motivational speaker. He lived with his wife Lori, son Ian, and daughter Niki in Clifton Park, New York.

SiriusXM radio host R. J. Clifford wrote, "Jeff Blatnick was so genuine. Seconds after becoming the first US greco medalist, he spent his interview thanking others. Most importantly, (he was) a great human being. Secondly, (he was) one of the best guys to help fix MMA judging...What a loss to both wrestling and MMA."[11]

A municipal park in

Mohawk Hudson Hike/Bike Trail
.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The man who named sport of MMA passes away". 24 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Slattery, Holden (October 23, 2008). "Speaker tells Homer students to keep improving". Cortland Standard. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  3. ^ a b c "Dana White, Lembo, Meltzer remember Blatnick". 25 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Love of grappling defined Jeff Blatnick - Mixed Martial Arts Blog- ESPN". 26 October 2012.
  6. ^ http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&thread=2080046&page=1 [dead link]
  7. ^ "Jeff Blatnick, Hughes-Trigg 2 to be Inducted into UFC's Hall of Fame in July".
  8. ^ "Former UFC Commentator Jeff Blatnick Passes Away at Age 55". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24. [permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Frank Shamrock [@frankshamrock] (October 25, 2012). "RIP Jeff Blatnick he was one of the original soldiers of MMA. We used to visit the commissions together and promote the sport. #sadness" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Big John McCarthy [@JohnMcCarthyMMA] (October 24, 2012). "So sad to hear that Jeff Blatnick passed today. Jeff deserves so much credit for helping establish MMA. He gave his credibility to" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "@RJcliffordMMA" on Twitter

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Blatnick&oldid=1219766439"