David Taylor is looking all set to take the wrestling world by storm again. The 33-year-old wrestler came to the forefront with his exceptional grappling back in 2020. Having won three World Championships gold and a World Cup, Taylor continued the gold rush in the Tokyo Olympics. Competing in his favorite 86 kg division, Taylor secured the gold medal, making him a formidable name in the US wrestling fraternity. Staying on top of his game for the next few years, the 33-year-old was heavily favored to repeat his antics in Paris. 

Unfortunately, tragedy struck Taylor as he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of his Penn State teammate, Aaron Brooks. While this was a shocker for the fans, the defeat broke Taylor’s mental toughness significantly. Hinting at retirement, the Magic Man took up the mantle of coaching the Oklahoma State wrestlers. But as the saying goes, you cannot keep a lion down for long. Reinstating his zeal for wrestling, Taylor competed at the national trials and dominated proceedings significantly. Now, he is all set to make his debut in a non-Olympic weight class of 92kg. 

Interestingly, fighting in a particular weight class has made the hype escalate heavily. This is because another heavyweight name, Abdulrashid Sadulaev will also be competing in the weight category. Thus, this will be the first instance where the ‘Magic Man‘ and the ‘Russian Tank’ will face off against each other. While this might be a mouth-watering clash for the audience, Taylor will have to be prepared enough to face the storm. And as per his latest statement, the Magic Man is putting in extra effort to stop the tank.

Heaping praises on Sadulaev, David Taylor mentioned in an interview with FloWrestling, “You know, obviously this world championship’s different. Sadulaev, what he does is, he’s unique, and not only is he unique, he’s the best at what he does. The best chest wrapper, best gut-wrench guy.” Taylor also went on to point out the areas that he is focusing on in his training at the moment.

Working on his attacking prowess, the Olympic champion said, “My training is really specific around those things. You know, when I’m in there, my focus areas are chess rap, you know, finishing mv takedowns. It’s gonna come down to a couple of flurries in there, and, you know, who comes out on top is probably gonna probably dictate the outcome.”

Surely, this tournament is special for not only the fans but also for David Taylor. Ever since the emergence of Abdulrashid Sadulaev, the fans have fancied a matchup between the duo. Unfortunately, it did not come to fruition owing to their differences in weight. Now that the match is a reality, David Taylor himself seems over the moon as he too, manifested the dream match-up for a long time.

David Taylor vs Abdulrashid Sadulaev: A dream come true

Abdulrashid Sadulaev and David Taylor have been two names that have dominated the wrestling realm for a long time. However, despite obliterating almost all of their opponents, the duo never came face to face on the mat. A major reason was the difference in weight classes. Taylor competed in the 86kg division while the Russian Tank sat pretty at 97 kg. Thus, there was no apparent motivation for either of the wrestlers to move or down their weight category. 

Fortunately, the stars seemed to have aligned and David Taylor will now have his work cut out. Sadulaev the “Russian Tank” has reigned supreme on the pound-for-pound rankings for the past decade. He also has a couple of Olympic golds to further enhance his embellished career. In what was a surprising move from Taylor, he cheered for Sadulaev during the National trials and manifested the dream matchup. 

Speaking with the Stillwater Frontier Rotary Club, Taylor said, “Now he’s coming down to wrestle at 92 kilos. It’s a matchup where the whole world stops and watches. He’s a five-time world champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and has only lost twice. He was silver in 2017 and got hurt in 2023, so he’s pretty good.” Thus, it is quite evident that David Taylor has got his wish granted. Now all he needs to do is to keep up the good work and emerge on the winning side of things at the World Championships.