Gold-medal wrestler Jordan Burroughs, 38, still seeking thrill in Real American Freestyle

Jordan Burroughs has embraced coaching, but the 38-year-old Olympic gold medalist feels he can still teach his best wrestling lessons as a competitor.

More than 100 kids from his All I See Is Gold Academy will take the nine-hour trip from southern New Jersey to Cleveland to witness his return to action after a two-year hiatus Saturday, when Burroughs will compete in the co-main event of Real American Freestyle’s RAF 12 against Sean Brady.

“There’s an element of telling people how to do something, and then there’s an element of just showing them the way, right?” he said. “So it’s like, all right, enough talking, just watch me. And I think they get excited too, because what happens is it reinforces all of the things that I teach them.”

Burroughs is the most accomplished Black American wrestler of all time and widely considered one of the greatest freestyle wrestlers in history. He won his Olympic gold medal in 2012 at 74 kilograms. He is a six-time world champion who won two national championships at Nebraska and claimed the Dan Hodge Trophy for the NCAA’s top college wrestler in 2011.

But none of that matters to kids who weren’t born when most of that happened. He said his students are excited to see their coach “get in the trenches” in Olympic-style professional wrestling.

“I hope that they can see this and be like, ‘Damn, my coach was crazy enough that he’s almost 40 years old and he’s going to go out and compete with guys younger than him to see what he’s got,’” Burroughs said. “Like, that’s pretty special.”

RAF pursued Burroughs for the opportunity to be part of the organization’s one-year anniversary event.

“Jordan Burroughs is an American wrestling legend who, from day one, our fans have been dying to see,” RAF CEO and co-founder Chad Bronstein said. “He’s the exact wrestler we had in mind when creating RAF, and having him return to the mat for our anniversary event is amazing.”

Burroughs won his most recent world title in 2022. His last major accomplishment was winning a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Championships. His last world championships appearance was in 2024.

He felt good on the mat in practice situations, so returning wasn’t a stretch. His killer instinct never went away, and he found an outlet in RAF.

“I’m a competitor naturally,” Burroughs said. “And I think when you’ve spent such a significant amount of your life competing and sharpening your mind and your body and trying to go out there and compete at the highest level and seeking challenges, it’s just in you. It’s in your DNA. And so my mind is always geared toward competition, looking for ways to win, self-improvement, self-mastery.”

He’ll need that competitive drive against Brady, a mixed martial arts performer who is bigger, stronger and five years younger. Burroughs wants to see if he can “solve the puzzle and crack the code” and said his return is not about making a point to outside observers.

“I feel like I have nothing to prove anymore at this point,” he said. “It’s less me wanting to show and me wanting to feel like — I just want to feel the thrill of being on the stage. I want to feel the excitement of sharpening my mind and body to go do something challenging.”

How far this return goes is unclear. Burroughs’ longtime rival, Kyle Dake, is the RAF cruiserweight champion and has a 5-0 record in RAF matches. Dake beat Burroughs in the final stage of the Olympic trials in 2021 after years of losing to him.

Burroughs doesn’t know if he’ll pursue Dake’s belt or perhaps even try to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in two years at age 40. At this stage, he measures his goals in moments, not years.

“I’m trying to feel good, get back into competition and really see where the wind takes me,” Burroughs said. “I’m training deliberately and intentionally now. I’m getting my body healthy and in shape. I want to make sure that my fitness is operating at a high level, and if I can do that, then the sky’s the limit.”

RAF co-founder and longtime coach Izzy Martinez said he expects a high-level performance from Burroughs, in part because he has remained involved with the sport.

“Wrestling still runs in his blood,” Martinez said. “[He’s been] away from competition, but not away from the mat. His mentality and skill will always give him a leg up on any opponent, and he’s going to give the crowd a show.”

Stepping back onto the mat does not mean Burroughs is dissatisfied with coaching. The diversity of the kids enrolled at his academy means he is bringing the sport to children who might not otherwise be exposed to it, something he loves. He said his choice to wrestle made him unusual growing up in the predominantly Black part of Winslow Township, New Jersey, and he wants to normalize it.

“All my buddies played football and basketball. No one wrestled,” he said. “And so I wanted to be the hero that brown boys could look at and say, ‘Man, I want to be like him. … I can be an extraordinary athlete in more than just two avenues. I don’t have to be a basketball player. I don’t have to be a football player.’”

Burroughs said many of his students are first-generation wrestlers, and he hopes they eventually teach their kids the sport. He said there are opportunities in wrestling if they stick with it.

“I got a college degree,” he said. “I went to school for free. I met some of my best friends through the sport of wrestling. I got to travel the world and carve out a great life for myself. And I want other Black kids to have that opportunity as well.”

Wrestling is still providing Burroughs with opportunities, including this unexpected chance to once again learn where he stands.

“This is why LeBron [James] still plays,” he said. “This is why Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and Tom Brady and Serena [Williams] and Tiger [Woods] and all the legends of the sports stay for a long time. Because they love their craft, but they also love the thrill, right? There’s a thrill in the challenge and the achievement of something daring.”