Matt Ghaffari

Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari (/ɡəˈfɑːri/ gə-FAR-ee;[1] Persian: سیامک غفاری‎, Persian pronunciation: [siːɒːmæk-e ɢæˈffɒːɾiː]; born November 11, 1961 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iran-born American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team member, obtaining a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. Ghaffari is the most accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler in U.S.A. history with three American records.

Matt Ghaffari
Born
Siamak Ghaffari

(1961-11-11) 11 November 1961
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Alma materCleveland State University
Years active1984–2000
2002–2004
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Sports career
CountryUnited States
SportAmateur wrestling
Event(s)Greco-Roman
University teamCleveland State Vikings (1981–84)
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (1979–80)
ClubSunkist Kids
DivisionHeavyweight
Mixed martial arts record
Total1
Wins0
Losses1
By knockout1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta 130kg
World Championships
1991 Varna 130kg
1998 Gävle 130kg
1995 Prague 130kg
World Cup
1990 Gothenburg 130kg
Pan American Games
1991 Havana 130kg
1995 Mar del Plata 130kg

Early life

Born in Tehran, Iran, Ghaffari came to the United States of America at a young age, he attended Paramus High School in Paramus, New Jersey.[2]

Amateur wrestling career

Representing the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games and 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Ghaffari reached the final of the heavyweight Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg division, where he lost a very close match 0-1 to Russia's 2-time Olympic champion Aleksandr Karelin in overtime. [2] Ghaffari is holder of 3 American Records; the only USA Greco-Roman wrestler with a total of four World and Olympic Medals, plus 4-time World Cup Champion, also 9-time Pan-American Champion! All 3 are USA Wrestling Records. Matt was 7-time USA National Wrestling Champion and 2-time USA Olympic Committee Greco-Roman Athlete of the Year.[3]

Mixed martial arts career

In 2002, Ghaffari fought in the Tokyo Dome in front of 28,000 spectators at a mixed martial arts bout in UFO- Universal Fighting-Arts Organization against judo Olympic Silver Medalist Naoya Ogawa. Ghaffari managed to take Ogawa down and attack him with a brief ground and pound, but back to standing, Ogawa landed a punch which shifted Matt's left eye contact lens and forced him to quit.[4]

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
1 match 0 wins 1 loss
By knockout 0 0
By submission 0 0
By decision 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 0-1 Naoya Ogawa TKO (punch) UFO Legend August 8, 2002 1 0:56 Tokyo, Japan

Professional wrestling career
Matt Ghaffari
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Matt Ghaffari[5]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[5]
Billed weight280 lb (130 kg)[5]
Debut8 December 2002[5]

In 1996, Ghaffari was scouted by professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling and was featured in several vignettes, but did not sign up with the company.[6]

After his stint in MMA, Ghaffari started to work in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, where he won the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship with Tom Howard on December 15, 2002 by defeating Shinya Hashimoto and old opponent Naoya Ogawa.[7] They held the championship until April 29, 2003, when they lost it to Hashimoto and Ogawa.[7]

In 2004, Ghaffari made an apparition for HUSTLE, pinning Ogawa after a beatdown from the heel faction Monster Army (Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Dusty Rhodes Jr., Giant Silva and Dan Bobish).[8]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. "Matt Ghaffari". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  2. Robbins, Liz. "OLYMPICS; Wrestler Two Victories From Dream", The New York Times, June 24, 2000. Accessed October 17, 2007. "To advance, Ghaffari had to pull out a trick he first used two decades ago at Paramus High School in New Jersey.... At 38, and a loss away from retirement, Ghaffari is still crafty and accomplished, compiling more Olympic and world championship medals than any other Greco-Roman wrestler with four."
  3. "Honoree: Matt Ghaffari". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  4. Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors – August News Part 2
  5. "Matt Ghaffari". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  6. Dimitri Groell, Jan Niedbala, La face cachée du catch: Ring, Coulisses & Business
  7. "NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions". Pro Wrestling ZERO-1. Archived from the original on July 28, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  8. "HUSTLE Results: 2004" (in German). PuroLove.com. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  9. "NWA ZERO-ONE O-300 Super Heavyweight Champions". cagematch.net. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
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