Gwiazdowski dominates main event, five other wrestlers earn victories at first Wrestling Underground UFC Fight Pass promotion

Screenshot of Nick Gwiazdowski after his main event victory over Kyven Gadson.

The newly formed Wrestling Underground promotion held their first event earlier tonight in conjunction with UFC Fight Pass. The event, which was backed and promoted by UFC legend and former Greco-Roman National Team member Chael Sonnen, featured six Senior-level matches being held inside an octagon at an undisclosed location in the Pacific Northwest. With the exception of a lack of step-out points, the event followed United World Wrestling’s ruleset.
The card’s main event featured current 125 kg World Team member Nick Gwiazdowski taking on No. 2 on the National Team at 97 kg Kyven Gadson.
From the moment the referee blew the whistle, it was all Gwiazdowski. The two-time World bronze medalist scored in the first ten seconds, spinning behind on a Gadson shot. Around the one minute mark, Gwiazdowski scored again, quickly getting in on a low level takedown and immediately converting to a leg lace to take a 6-0 lead.
With 45 seconds left in the period, Gwiazdowski elevated a single leg, running Gadson into the cage before finishing the shot to extend his lead to 8-0. Gwiazdowski, sealed the deal with a go-behind to earn the, 10-0, technical fall just before the conclusion of the period.
While the main event featured little wrestling against the cage, other matches on the card saw it become a factor.
Tyler Berger and Joey McKenna kicked off the event wrestling at a catch weight of 159 pounds. Off the whistle, Berger immediately scored a takedown, trapping McKenna against the cage. He added another takedown before the period ended to take a 4-0 lead into the break.
In the second period, Berger once again utilized the cage to finish a takedown and pushed his lead to 6-0. McKenna, a Junior World silver medalist and U23 World bronze medalist, got on the board with his own takedown, and immediately looked to transition into a gut wrench. However, the action moved straight into the cage and ended up with the wrestlers being put back on their feet in the middle. Berger scored on a go-behind from a desperation shot from McKenna to push the score to 8-4 in the closing seconds.
This could be the only time we see these wrestlers compete against each other given that McKenna wrestles at 65 kg and Berger currently wrestles at 74 kg.
The second match of the night was the only Greco-Roman bout on the card. It pitted two-time Olympian Ben Provisor against 2018 World Team member RaVaughn Perkins. Despite being two well-established Senior wrestlers, the pair had never wrestled before given that Provisor has previously been competing at 87 kg while Perkins wrestled at 72 kg. However, for the Olympic year, they are both moving to 77 kg,
Fireworks ensued immediately, with Perkins opening the bout with a massive five-point throw. Provisor responded with a four-point body lock to cut Perkins lead to one. The action didn’t stop there, as Perkins hit another highlight-reel throw, a headlock for four points, to go ahead 9-4. Not to be outdone, Provisor launched Perkins, picking up two points as Perkins managed to avoid exposure. Before the end of the period, Provisor put together one more scoring sequence, a duck under to a gut wrench, putting him in the lead, 10-9, at the break.
After an action-packed first period, the second period by comparison was more subdued. The pair fought positional battles, looking to dig their underhooks and gain the upper hand. A last-ditch flying squirrel attempt by Perkins was unsuccessful and Provisor held on to win, 10-9.
Two-time Iowa All-American Sammy Brooks took on Penn State All-American Shakur Rasheed in the card’s third match. Rasheed quickly pulled out to a 4-0 lead on the strength of two takedowns. However, Brooks battled back, scoring on a go-behind off a Rasheed takedown attempt to cut the lead to 4-2 before the break.
Brooks took the lead early in the second period after converting on a single leg takedown. Brooks utilized the cage better than any other wrestler tonight, scoring two takedowns after trapping Rasheed at the edge of the octagon, including one beautiful drop down double leg. Rasheed would score one more takedown at the end of the match, but it would be too little too late. Brooks earned the win, 8-6.
At 213 pounds, Kollin Moore put on an impressive display over former National Team member Deron Winn. Currently focused on his MMA career, Winn, who fights in the UFC, hasn’t competed in a wrestling match since December of 2018.
While Winn put up a valiant effort, he was no match for the 2018 U23 World silver medalist. Moore earned a shot clock point and three takedowns to take the match, 7-0.
The final match before the main card featured David McFadden filling in for an injured Mark Hall against Tommy Gantt. After being put on the shot clock, Gantt managed to find his offense, taking McFadden down for a 2-0 lead. As the period winded down, McFadden scored a takedown of his own and added 2 exposure points from a leg lace right as the clock expired, giving him a 4-2 lead at the break.
In the second period, McFadden extended his lead to 8-2, on the strength of two more takedowns. A determined Gantt added another takedown to cut the lead to 8-4. The score would hold, and McFadden would emerge victorious.
While the cage provided an unfamiliar obstacle for some of the wrestlers, others managed to use the unique circumstances to their advantage. Hopefully, wrestling fans will be able to tune in to future wrestling promotions on UFC Fight Pass and catch more world-class wrestling inside of the octagon.


Results
159 pounds – Tyler Berger DEC Joey McKenna, 8-2
180 pounds – Ben Provisor DEC RaVaughn Perkins, 10-9
190 pounds – Sammy Brooks DEC Shakur Rasheed, 8-6
213 pounds – Kollin Moore DEC Deron Winn, 7-0
185 pounds – David McFadden DEC Tommy Gantt, 8-4
Heavyweight – Nick Gwiazdowski TF Kyven Gadson, 10-0