In an insane display of awareness and athleticism, Cox pulled his hips back, dug underhooks and exploded forward at an angle, driving Nickal backward. But once you transition to freestyle, the reward for bonus points is much less pronounced, and they are hard to come by when facing the absolute best the world has to offer. Cox kicked his leg back effortlessly, and as Nickal rose back to his feet,Down three with just over one minute to go, and with Cox as fluid as ever, Nickal pushed forward with fervor. Naturally, Cox has focused on just winning matches, which typically looks like shutting down his opponents’ offense and finding one or two scores when he gets the right look. But there is evidence to suggest that while Cox may not have been fully tested, he is truly the best version of himself thus far. He shattered expectations, qualifying the weight and winning bronze, his only loss a consequence of an error in communication. That is why it should have come as no surprise when many chose folkstyle superstar Bo Nickal to defeat him for the World team spot at Final X: Rutgers. 86 kg is staffed domestically by a prime David Taylor, and the sensational Iranian Hassan Yazdani Charati. At the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Cox may face a row of impressive challengers. He was a perfect 28–0 on the season and finished second in Cox was the first three-time national champion in program history. Texas native Nickal won his third NCAA title in March, a season which saw him go undefeated, winning with bonus points at a 90% rate. Nickal is most often attacking the far ankle and creating an angle to lock up near and far-side cradles.

Typically, when a wrestler latches on to the collar, their opponent reaches back to collar tie the other side. Nickal was left only swiping at air. Cox’s feet were planted, it was the best scoring opportunity of the period. While Nickal would prefer to dig underhooks, he’s highly effective shooting across from an over tie. J'den Cox (/ ˈdʒeɪdən / JAY-dən, born March 3, 1995) is an American wrestler who specializes in freestyle wrestling and folkstyle wrestling. But even when an approach is working, it’s rarely a good thing in wrestling to be predictable. They knew it wouldn’t be impossible for Nickal to get to his collar and over ties, but Cox was more than ready for the high crotch to the trail leg at this point. So when he does fall behind, as he did against Boris Makoev at the 2017 World Championships, it’s unnatural for Cox to get to multiple scoring positions, especially while avoiding the situations where he was scored on in the first place. to the international weight of 86 kg (189.6 lbs.). After winning his second NCAA title for the Tigers, Cox defeated four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake to make the 2016 Olympic team. Cox kept a low stance with his head high, keeping his feet moving, using rhythmic foot checks and downblocks to keep Nickal off easy entries. Nickal worked quickly to seize his opportunity, turning the corner and putting pressure on Cox’s foot as he angled his hip to the mat. The emphasis on bonus points is huge in collegiate competition, especially when you’re a leader on your team.

But now, especially when Cox traded collar ties and Nickal was able to tie up with both arms, the Texan began to snap aggressively, encouraging Cox to low his head and stance. Feeling confident in his upper body chops, and perhaps hoping to prove a point, Cox surged forward, digging his left underhook yet again. Some may not like the fact that many of Cox’s tactics were seemingly designed to stall out positions, but how else should you wrestle the most dangerous man in the country?
Nickal adjusted on his knees, reestablishing his grip and standing with the leg.Nickal was forced to cling to the leg while flat on his stomach. Essentially, Nickal has a seemingly fool-proof system of scoring, no position is safe. Cox was the #9 seed in the 86 kg bracket and advanced to best of three final against The United States had not yet qualified to compete at the Olympics at 86 kg weight class, so Cox had to try to qualify the weight at the Cox turned in another third-place performance while representing Cox is the son of Michael and Cathy Cox. Nickal tied up once again and waited for Cox to reach high for the collar on his right, and Nickal shot deep for the trail leg, his motion unimpeded. The motion of his feet increased in pace, shoulder and hip fakes added to The bigger man began handfighting far more aggressively, clubbing hard and throwing by Nickal’s attacking arms. He became the second U.S. man to win an Olympic or world title without surrendering a point in more than 30 years (joining Kyle Dake from last year). The Penn State corner is not only adept at developing athletes, they’ve shown the ability to guide their athletes to make adjustments to take out elite opponents.