Cole Konrad

Cole Konrad
Born	Cole Konrad April 2, 1984 (1984-04-02) (age 27) Appleton, Wisconsin
Other names	The Polar Bear
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1]
Weight	266 lb (120.7 kg; 19.0 st)
Division	Heavyweight (265 lb)
Style	Wrestling
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Neenah, Wisconsin
Team	DeathClutch
Trainer	Marty Morgan
Rank	NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active	2010 – present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	8
Wins	8
By knockout	1
By submission	2
By decision	5
Losses	0
Other information
University	University of Minnesota
Notable school(s)	Freedom High School (Wisconsin) New London High School (Wisconsin)
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Freestyle wrestling
Pan American Championships
Gold	2005 Guatemala City	120 kg
World University Championships
Bronze	2006 Ulan Bator	120 kg

Cole Konrad (born April 2, 1984) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He is currently a student at the University of Minnesota and former wrestler for the Golden Gophers. Konrad won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Championships.^[2] He won the NCAA wrestling championships in 2006 and 2007 at 285 pounds and finished third at the 2006 World University Championships at 120 kilograms.^[3] He is the first and current Bellator Heavyweight Champion

Amateur wrestling career

High school

After transferring from New London High School in New London, Wisconsin to Freedom High School in Freedom, Wisconsin. Konrad compiled a 101-15 record and won the 2002 Wisconsin state championship. He was listed as a first team high school All-American at 275 pounds by both the Amateur Wrestling News and Wrestling USA Magazine. During his high school career, Konrad also excelled at freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He won the 2002 Junior National Championships in both styles.

Collegiate

Konrad wrestled at the University of Minnesota where he won two NCAA titles. The first came during an undefeated junior season of 2006 and he followed that up with another undefeated, title winning performance in 2007.^[4] His overall collegiate record finished at 155-13 with 10 of those losses coming during his freshman season.

Konrad gained notoriety in wrestling through his rivalry with Steve Mocco. Mocco is a two time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State. As Mocco attempted to win his third NCAA title during the 2006 season, Konrad beat Mocco a total of three times including a pin at the National Duals and a 5-2 victory in the NCAA title match.^[5] Konrad is the all-time Minnesota record holder for consecutive wins with 76. He recorded a pin in his final collegiate match over Penn State wrestler Aaron Anspach.

International

While concentrating on collegiate wrestling, Konrad has managed to develop a strong international record as well. In 2005 he won a gold medal at the Pan American Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala and finished third at the U.S. World Team Trials. In 2006 he won the bronze medal for the 264.5 pounds freestyle weight class at the World University Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Mixed martial arts career

Konrad made his professional mixed martial arts debut on January 23, 2010, defeating Gary "Chief" Hamen on the Martial Arts Xtreme promotion's Max Fights 8 with a neck crank, which is a modified rear naked choke from half guard that his training partner, Brock Lesnar, nicknamed the "Polar Bear Choke". His second professional fight was a TKO in the first round over Joel Wyatt.^[6][7][8]

Bellator Fighting Championships

Konrad made his Bellator debut on May 6, 2010 at Bellator 17 where he won a unanimous decision against Pat Bennett. He went on to win his next three fights by unanimous decision at Bellator 22 against John Orr, Bellator 25 against Rogent Lloret in the Bellator Season Three Heavyweight tournament quarter-final and at Bellator 29 against Damian Grabowski in the Bellator Season Three Heavyweight tournament semi-final. Konrad progressed on to the Heavyweight tournament final at Bellator 32 where he won by Keylock submission in round 1 against Neil Grove.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Bellator Fighting Championships
  • Bellator Heavyweight Championship (One time; First; Current)
  • Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Winner

Amateur wrestling

• International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
  • 2007 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist
  • 2005 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
• International University Sports Federation
  • 2006 FISU World University Championships Freestyle Bronze Medalist
• USA Wrestling
  • USA Senior Freestyle National Championship Runner-up (2007)
  • USA University Freestyle National Championship (2006)
  • USA University Folkstyle National Championship (2003)
  • USA Junior Freestyle National Championship (2002)
  • USA Junior Greco-Roman National Championship (2002)
  • ASICS Tiger High School All-American First Team (2002)
  • USA Junior Greco-Roman National Championship Runner-up (2001)
  • Northern Plains Junior Freestyle Regional Championship Runner-up (2001)
  • Northern Plains Junior Greco-Roman Regional Championship (2001)
  • 2004 South Regional Olympic Team Trials Qualifier Senior Greco-Roman Winner
  • 2003 FILA Junior Freestyle World Team Trials Winner
  • 2003 FILA Junior Greco-Roman World Team Trials Winner
• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division I Collegiate Championship (2006, 2007)
  • NCAA Division I Collegiate Championship Runner-up (2005)
  • NCAA Division I All-American (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
  • Big Ten Conference Championship (2005, 2006, 2007)
  • Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year (2007)
• Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
  • WIAA Division II High School State Championship (2002)
  • WIAA Division II All-State (2002)
  • Valley 8 Conference Championship (2002)
  • WIAA Division I All-State (2001)

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
8 matches	8 wins	0 losses
By knockout	1	0
By submission	2	0
By decision	5	0

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	8–0	Paul Buentello	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 48	02011-08-20 August 20, 2011	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States	Non-title bout.
Win	7–0	Neil Grove	Submission (keylock)	Bellator 32	02010-10-14 October 14, 2010	1	4:45	Kansas City, Missouri, United States	Won Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament. Became first Bellator Heavyweight Champion
Win	6–0	Damian Grabowski	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 29	02010-09-16 September 16, 2010	3	5:00	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States	Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal.
Win	5–0	Rogent Lloret	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 25	02010-08-19 August 19, 2010	3	5:00	Chicago, Illinois, United States	Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal.
Win	4–0	John Orr	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 22	02010-06-17 June 17, 2010	3	5:00	Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Win	3–0	Pat Bennett	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 17	02010-05-06 May 6, 2010	3	5:00	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Win	2–0	Joel Wyatt	TKO (punches)	Matrix Fights 1	02010-02-27 February 27, 2010	1	2:23	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	1–0	Gary Hamen	Submission (neck crank)	Max Fights 8: Elimination	02010-01-23 January 23, 2010	1	1:13	Fargo, North Dakota, United States

See also

• Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling
• List of current mixed martial arts champions

External links

• Cole Konrad profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• 285 pound NCAA Finals match, 2006. Konrad vs. Steve Mocco, Part I
• 285 pound NCAA Finals match, 2006. Konrad vs. Steve Mocco, Part II
• The Official Minnesota Gopher Website
• The Official Wrestling site of the NCAA
• The Official site of USA Wrestling

Notes and references

1. ^ "SHERDOG FIGHTFINDER - Cole Konrad". Sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Cole-Konrad-59013. Retrieved October 12, 2009. 
2. ^ "Pan American Championships". USA Wrestling. 2005-05. http://www.themat.com/results.php?page=display_results_style&ResultID=16001. Retrieved 2006-12-27. 
3. ^ "World University Championships". USA Wrestling. 2006-06. http://www.themat.com/results.php?page=display_results_style&ResultID=100703. Retrieved 2006-12-27. 
4. ^ 2007 brackets
5. ^ 2006 brackets
6. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Konrad-dominates-Grabowski-in-Bellator-heavyweig?urn=mma-270362
7. ^ http://www.mmamemories.com/2010/09/17/attack-of-the-boring-wrestlers-in-mma.html
8. ^ http://www.cagepotato.com/bellator-heavyweights-and-wisconsin-not-so-boring-if-you%E2%80%99re-drunk

Persondata
Name	Konrad, Cole
Alternative names
Short description	American wrestler
Date of birth	April 2, 1984
Place of birth	Appleton, Wisconsin
Date of death
Place of death