Amateur wrestlers Kyle Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis were asked this week about moving into MMA and both agreed that the latter is mentally and physically taxing. Dake won an Olympic bronze medal in Paris while Diakomihalis's Olympic hopes ended after his loss to Jesse Mendez in the trials.
Kyle Dake, the third athlete to become a four-time NCAA Division I National Champion in collegiate history, competed for the wrestling team at Cornell University. Having gained fame in the NCAA, Dake collected several laurels in elite competitions as well. After his first World Championships appearance in 2018, the American won consecutive golds in the 79kg and 74kg categories until his second place in the 74kg category at the 2023 Worlds.
Yianni Diakomihalis, Dake's fellow alumni of Cornell University, is also a fellow four-time NCAA Division 1 Champion, winning gold in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. In a recent Instagram live session, the Paris Olympic bronze medalist in 74kg and Diakomihalis talked about the possibilities of shifting to MMA.
Diakomihalis ruled out any chances of featuring in MMA, saying (via wrestlersgrind on Instagram):
"No. I'm not gonna fight. I feel like fighting one time would be cool but it's hard to make a living getting punched in the face. I'm really handsome, I probably have to fight around two or five."
Kyle Dake, on the other hand, didn't rule out his chances completely but agreed that MMA demands a lot from competitors.
"Me fighting, I thought about it for a little bit. I think I'll be pretty good at it if I spend some time training just because wrestling is such an X-factor. That would be something I would consider but it would take a lot."
The 33-year-old also has an Olympic bronze medal in the 74kg category, from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
When Kyle Dake reflected on winning Olympic bronze medal at the age of 33
After winning the silver at the 2024 US Olympics, Kyle Dake talked about feeling sore after competing at 33 but expressed love for his sport nevertheless. Speaking in August, he said (via FloWrestling)
"I feel pretty good. Muscles feel a little sore. The weight cut is still a thing. You know, it takes a lot out of you. Stinks that there's only 6 weights, we got 10 weights. It'd be a lot different story. I love wrestling. It's fun. And even though I didn't get what I wanted. You know, even if I had the gold medal, I'd still have the same answer. I don't know. I'm not sure. I know I still love doing it. I still love competing."
Dake won four gold medals at the Pan American Championships. He landed three Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association titles while at Cornell University.