Clashing World champions Burroughs vs. Taylor and Gray vs. Mensah-Stock headline FloWrestling's monster 11-match card this Saturday

The wrestling world has seen its fair share of cards and events during the second half of 2020.

Now, FloWrestling is kicking off the New Year with one of the most exciting cards to date. This Saturday, beginning at 8 p.m. EST, Flo is hosting an 11-match card, concluding the night with two World champ vs. World champ matchups. Below, let’s dive into the full card.

86 kg Jordan Burroughs vs. David Taylor
If you’re not stoked for this match, I have a hard time believing you’re a fan of the sport. Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, four-time World champion and three-time World bronze medalist, and Taylor, a 2018 World champion, are two of the best and most popular wrestlers on earth.

Burroughs currently holds a 4-0 lead in this series, but the last time this pair wrestled was in 2014. Taylor is now at 86 kg, while Burroughs still competes at 74 kg. In November, Burroughs bumped up to 86 kg and took out Zahid Valencia, 8-6. While Valencia is an elite wrestler, he has yet to compete at the Senior World champions, let alone bring home a World title. Not only that, but Taylor was named “The Best Men’s Freestyle Wrestler of the Year” in 2018 by United World Wrestling. While he was unable to compete for a significant portion of 2019 due to injury, Taylor was back on the mat in March of 2020, qualifying the U.S. for the Olympic Games with a Pan Am Olympic Qualifier title.

Burroughs has been the best in the country and one of the best in the World for nearly a decade, but will he be able to overcome the size advantage Taylor will obviously hold? It will be a tall order, but count JB out at your own peril.

76 kg Adeline Gray vs. Tamyra Mensah-Stock
The second clash of World champions features five-time World champion Adeline Gray taking on 2019 World champion and 2018 World bronze medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock in arguably one of the biggest women’s freestyle matches in history.

Gray, who competes at 76 kg, made history in 2019, becoming the first U.S. wrestler to win five World titles. She also claimed World bronze in 2011 and 2013. Mensah-Stock wrestles at 68 kg. Both wrestlers are already in the Olympic Team Trials finals at their respective weight classes after qualifying the weights for the Tokyo by medaling at the 2019 World Championships.

The pair wrestled once before at the 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial, with Gray coming out on top, 8-0. With Mensah-Stock cementing herself as one of the best wrestlers on the planet, let’s see if she has closed the gap this time around.

97 kg J’den Cox vs. Hayden Zillmer
J’den Cox, the 2018 and 2019 World champion at 92 kg, has moved up to 97 kg for the Olympic year. Cox, who took bronze at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships at 86 kg, will take on former National Team member, Hayden Zillmer. An immensely talented wrestler, Zillmer has made the National Team in both Greco-Roman and men’s freestyle, although he competes exclusively in freestyle now. Zillmer is the 2019 Senior Nationals champion and the 2020 Senior Nationals runner-up. He also placed third at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series Tournament in Italy.

Cox holds a 3-0 record over Zillmer with their most recent matches taking place at the 2018 Final X: Lehigh.

152 pounds James Green vs. Pat Lugo
Two-time World medalist James Green of the SERTC and Pat Lugo of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club will face off at 152 pounds. Green has manned 70 kg for the U.S. for the past five World Championships, making the World finals in 2017 and finishing with bronze in 2015. For the Olympic year, he is cutting down to 65 kg.

Lugo was the No. 1 seed going at 149 pounds going into the 2020 NCAA Tournament. While he has not competed much at the Senior level, his results have been impressive, notching a victory over Luke Pletcher at the Beat the Streets Chicago Rumble on the Rooftop in June and wrestling a competitive, 6-1, match with Indian star Bajrang Punia in FloWrestling’s 150-pound eight-man bracket in December. Green, went 2-1, in the same 8-man bracket, falling to Punia in the finals, 8-4.

51 kg Erin Golston vs. Emily Shilson
This bout features established contender Erin Golston vs. up-and-coming star Emily Shilson. Golston is a three-time National Team member, a 2013 Junior World silver medalist and two-time Junior World bronze medalist. Shilson, who competes collegiately for Augsburg, is a 2018 Youth Olympic Games and Cadet World champion and a 2017 Cadet World silver medalist. She is also a 2019 U23 World Team member. In November, she won both the U23 and UWW Junior Nationals.

65 kg Joey McKenna vs. Nahshon Garrett
The PRTC’s Joey McKenna will take on the SERTC’s Nahshon Garrett at 65 kg. McKenna was No. 2 on the National Team in 2018 and was a three-time All-American at Stanford and Ohio State. He is a 2014 Junior World silver medalist and a 2017 U23 World bronze medalist.

Garrett, a four-time All-American and NCAA champion for Cornell, defeated Joe Colon to make the 2018 World Team at 61 kg. Garrett was unable to compete due to injury, and Colon went on to win bronze in his stead. Recently Garrett competed at 57 kg (+3) for the RTC Cup, where he went 1-3, however it appears that he is now committed to moving up to 65 kg.

143 pounds Ethan Lizak vs. Matt McDonough
One of the night’s more intriguing matchups pits three-time All-American and 2017 NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak against the previously retired Matt McDonough. A two-time NCAA champion and three-time finalist for Iowa, McDonough has not competed since the 2015 World Team Trials. McDonough was a 2010 Junior World Team member, while Lizak, who wrestles for the PRTC after competing collegiately for Minnesota, represented the U.S. at the 2013 Junior World Championships.

61 kg Seth Gross vs. Zane Richards
While Seth Gross and Zane Richards are both locked in at 57 kg for the Olympic year, they’re both moving up to 61 kg for this match. Gross is a two-time NCAA finalist and 2018 NCAA champion currently training with the Wisconsin RTC. A former Cadet and Junior World Team member, Gross has made a successful transition onto the Senior level, earning a berth at the 2020 Olympic Team Trials with a first-place finish at the 2019 Bill Farrell International. Gross recently notched victories over two-time NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith and 2017 World silver medalist Thomas Gilman at cards hosted by the Wisconsin RTC.

Richards is a two-time All-American for Illinois currently training with the Illinois RTC. He has logged third place finishes at the 2019 U.S. Open and the 2018 Bill Farrell Memorial.

215 pounds Nate Jackson vs Wynn Michalak
At 215 pounds, we’ll see another active competitor take on a previously retired wrestler with Nate Jackson facing off with Wynn Michalak. Jackson is an assistant coach at Princeton and wrestles for the NJRTC. He is the 2019 Medved International champion and a 2020 Senior Nationals champion. He placed third in FloWrestling’s eight-man 195 pound bracket in December. Collegiately, he was a two-time All-American at Indiana.

Michalak has only competed once since the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, finishing seventh at the U.S. Open. Michalak was a three-time All-American and 2008 NCAA finalist for Central Michigan. Between 2010-2016, he competed extensively at the Senior level both domestically and internationally and claimed a 2015 Senior Nationals title.

60kg Ronna Heaton vs Desiree Zavala
Two-time Cadet World finalist and 2015 Cadet World champion Ronna Heaton will battle with 62 kg National Team member Desiree Zavala in the second match of the night. Heaton placed first in the 52 kg bracket at the U23 Nationals in November. Zavala also claimed a title at the U23 Nationals in the 59 kg bracket, teching her way through the tournament. Zavala, who wrestles collegiately for Wayland Baptist, is a 2019 U.S. Open runner-up, while Heaton, who trains with the Wisconsin RTC, is a 2020 Senior Nationals runner-up.

155 lbs - Mitch McKee vs Tristan Moran
Mitch McKee, the 2020 U23 Nationals champion at 61 kg will be wrestling at this event about 20 pounds heavier when he squares off with Tristan Moran at 155 pounds. The pair wrestled three times collegiately, with Moran holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. McKee was a two-time All-American for Minnesota. He is a 2017 Junior World silver medalist and U23 World team member. Moran started his college career at Oklahoma State before transferring to Wisconsin, where he made the round-of-12 at the 2019 NCAA Tournament and was named a 2020 NWCA Second-Team All-American.