American Wrestler Sets Sights on Octagon After Paris Olympics 2024 Dreams Crushed by Doping Scandal

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is thrilled to host intense and exciting events in April to kick off the 2024 Regular Season. Top fighters from across the globe in the wrestling world compete in the PFL Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship, with a $1 million prize pool awarded to the winners of each of the six weight classes. Two-time NCAA wrestling champion for Oklahoma State, Jordan Oliver is now gearing himself up for the event after he got himself caught in a doping controversy that halted his Olympic aspirations.

Former Bellator fighter, Jordan won his debut MMA fight last year. Now he has similar aspirations for the second pro fight in the Octagon. Notably, Bellator does not use the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for participation in the events. Therefore, Oliver can showcase his dominance in the Octagon. A recent social media post voiced excitement for his second pro-fight.

Former Cowboys Jordan Oliver set for the Octagon again

Taking to his official handle, Justin Basch shared an update about Jordan’s upcoming fight and cheered him up for showcasing his dominance in the Olympics. The post caption reads “Last year, @that_dude_JO ended the Olympic Trials at the top of the podium. This year, during the Olympic Trials, he’ll be back in the Bellator octagon as he’s set to have his second pro fight! Let’s gooo, JO!”

The final 2024 PFL Regular Season first-half event will be held on April 19 in Chicago, Illinois. In the Featherweight division, Jordan Oliver’s opponent is yet to be decided. Oliver began wrestling at the early age of four, motivated by his brother. He dominated his wrestling skills by winning four Pennsylvania state championships in high school. Besides that, he has also gathered four Big 12 titles. Unfortunately, in 2020 had to stop just at the doorstep of the Olympics.

Jordan Oliver was selected as a member of the U.S. Olympic team but failed to the defending Individual World Cup champion, Magomedmurad Gadzhiev by 3-2, in the World Qualification Tournament. This ended his path to the Olympics. After the heartbreak, however, a bigger problem was waiting for him.

Jordan Oliver’s Decisive Shift to MMA

In March last year, USADA announced that Jordan Oliver had accepted a 2-year ban for his second anti-doping violation after 2018. Oliver’s test result for THC during the World Team Trials in May 2022, verified by USADA, was positive. His ban is retroactive from July 12, 2022. Therefore, he cannot take part in the wrestling Olympic qualifiers scheduled to take part in April. After this setback, Oliver moved to mixed martial arts (MMA) as a chance to make up for lost time.

Read More: Amidst USA Wrestling’s Olympic Qualification Woes, Here Are Top Wrestlers Who Could’ve Potentially Resolved the Issue

Although the wrestling arena is closed for him for the time being, Jordan proved his capabilities by winning by debut fight in MMA against Andrew Triolo. And it seems that he might be trying to find solace in his new realm while brushing aside the Olympic dreams. Regarding the same, he said, “A world champion is a world champion, and obviously wrestling has a different set of rules to win the gold, but I look at this as something bigger. I look at this as something bigger than the Olympic gold. This would mean more to me than Olympic gold.” It remains to be seen if he can truly prove his worth, albeit in a different arena.

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