Cox Impresses at UWW Men’s Freestyle World Cup
6/13/2016 11:14:00 AM | Wrestling
2016 Olympian finishes event with 3-1 record, defeating World No. 3 and 6-ranked wrestlers
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Mizzou wrestler and 2016 U.S. Olympian J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) capped a successful weekend on Sunday at the UWW Freestyle World Cup with a 3-1 record, guiding Team USA to a fourth-place finish. The United States advanced to the third-place match on Sunday following a 2-1 finish in pool play, defeating India, 7-1, and Azerbaijan, 8-0, on Saturday, before falling to Iran by criteria, 4-4 (17-15) on Sunday. In the third place match, Georgia upended the US by criteria, 4-4 (17-16).
In Saturday's opening match against India, Cox defeated Pawan Kumar by technical fall, 13-2. Cox followed the technical fall with his highest ranked win to-date, defeating the No. 3-ranked wrestler in the world at 86 kg, Alexander Gostiev (Azerbaijan), 3-2, on Saturday evening. Cox trailed, 2-0, at the end of the first period, but scored a takedown and a step out point in the final three minutes to secure the come-from-behind victory.
"I'm hard to score on when I've got my defense going, and I was doing a good job of coming forward even though I was up," said Cox in a release from USA Wrestling on Saturday. "I felt something very different, something I've never felt before. I'm just going to continue to get better. Like I said, win or lose you've got to take something from your match."
In the final pool play dual of the event, Cox defeated 2015 World bronze medalist and the No. 6-ranked wrestler in the world at 86 kg, Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-2, on Sunday. The two grapplers each scored takedowns in the first period to knot the score at, 2-2, after the first period. In the second period, Cox countered a shot attempt and scored to gain a lead, then scored another takedown near the end of the bout to cap the score at 6-2.
"It took belief in what I could do. It took not getting shaken up by getting taken down early," said Cox. "I just thought about it in compartments. I got taken down and the next thing was to not give up four. Next thing after that was get to your shot. Keep going forward and you'll get there and we did."
In the third-place match against Georgia, Cox fell to 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Dato Marsigashvili, 7-4, suffering his first loss since transitioning to freestyle wrestling in April. Cox trailed, 7-0, in the second period before scoring two takedowns in furious late comeback attempt.
Cox will next wrestle in the Grand Pix of Germany, July 2-3 before heading off to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).
Another day in the books, and fun all around, time to rest up a bit and then get back on the horse. #funjuststarting pic.twitter.com/9z7itKIQJr
— J'den Cox (@SuperstarW14T) June 13, 2016
2016 MEN'S FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
At The Forum, Inglewood, Calif., June 11-12
3rd Place Match
United States 4 (16) – Georgia 4 (17)
57 kg: Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia) fall Daniel Dennis (United States), 2:32
61 kg: Beka Lomtadze (Georgia) dec. Tony Ramos (United States), 8-5
65 kg: Frank Molinaro (United States) dec. Zurab Iakobishvili (Georgia), 4-4
70 kg: James Green (United States) tech. fall David Tlashadze (Georgia), 10-0
74 kg: Alex Dieringer (United States) dec. Yakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 10-1
86 kg: Dato Marsigashvili (Georgia) dec. J'den Cox (United States), 7-4
97 kg: Kyle Snyder (United States) dec. Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia), 3-3
125 kg: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) dec. Zach Rey (United States), 6-2
United States 4 (15) – Iran 4 (17)
57 kg: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) dec. Daniel Dennis (United States), 7-2
61 kg: Masoud Esmaeilpourjouybari (Iran) dec. Tony Ramos (United States), 8-2
65 kg: Frank Molinaro (United States) dec. Sayed Mohammadi (Iran), 4-3
70 kg: James Green (United States) dec. Moustafa Hosseinkhani (Iran), 5-2
74 kg: Hassan Yazdanicharati (Iran) tech. fall Alex Dieringer (United States), 10-0
86 kg: J'den Cox (United States) dec. Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-2
97 kg: Kyle Snyder (United States) dec. Abbas Tahan (Iran), 8-1
125 kg: Parviz Hadi (Iran) dec. Jake Varner (United States), 3-1
United States 8 – Azerbaijan 0
57 kg/ 125.5 lbs. – Daniel Dennis (United States) tech. fall Makhmud Magomedov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
61 kg/134 lbs. – Tony Ramos (United States) dec. Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov (Azerbaijan), 10-4
65 kg/143 lbs. – Frank Molinaro (United States) dec. Magomed Muslimov (Azerbaijan), 4-1
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green (United States) tech. fall Gadzhimurad Omarov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Alex Dieringer (United States) dec. Ashraf Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 8-0
86 kg/189 lbs. – J'den Cox (United States) dec. Alexander Gostiev (Azerbaijan), 3-2
97 kg/213 lbs. – Kyle Snyder (United States) dec. Aslanbek Alborov (Azerbaijan), 2-1
125 kg/275 lbs. – Jake Varner (United States) tech. fall Said Gamidov (Azerbaijan), 10-0
United States 7 – India 1
57 kg/ 125.5 lbs. – Daniel Dennis (United States) forfeit (India)
61 kg/134 lbs. – Tony Ramos (United States) dec. Bajrang (India), 3-3
65 kg/143 lbs. – Frank Molinaro (United States) dec. Rajneesh (India), 5-0
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green (United States) tech. fall Vinod Kumar (India), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs. – Parveen Rana (India) dec. Alex Dieringer (United States), 4-4
86 kg/189 lbs. – J'den Cox (United States) tech. fall Pawan Kumar (India), 13-2
97 kg/213 lbs. – Kyle Snyder (United States) tech. fall Kadian Satywart (India), 10-0
125 kg/275 lbs. – Jake Varner (United States) forfeit (India)
–MIZZOU–
Players Mentioned
