Pat Downey has been making a rapid rise in the wrestling ranks these days. Competing for the Iowa State Cyclones, Downey is a one-time US national gold medal winner. However, the 32-year-old wrestler recently shot to fame for his appearance in the Craig Jones Invitational. The tournament featured fighters from all over the world coming together for a submission grappling tournament held in August. 

With a prize money of $1 million allocated for each weight division, the fighters gave it their all to try and secure the victory. Pat Downey, too, was naturally eyeing the whopping prize money. And while he looked well on course to get his hands on the cash, a shocking decision jolted his progression and brought it to a screeching halt. Reflecting on his perplexing loss in the CJI, Downey claimed that he was ‘robbed’. 

Pat Downey loses out in a controversial manner 

Pat Downey looked in ominous form as the CJI progressed. The US wrestler looked bang on with his grappling techniques, which made life tough for his opponents. However, coming into the quarterfinal bout, Downey was pitted against Adam Bradley. After the end of the grueling matchup, Downey expected his hands to be raised. But much to his shock, the referee announced Bradley as the winner. 

Such a decision was not well received by Pat Downey, and in an exclusive interview with Parry Punch, the wrestler looked back at the fiasco. Expressing his frustration with the decision, Downey said, “I stayed on top, I controlled I’m trying to pass I’m trying to you know top position I’m on top I won the round. So um I was super surprised… You don’t really see me get emotional about the results. I got pretty I got pretty livid about losing and I wanted that match with Rod and you know I felt robbed of $990,000.”

Downey further detailed how grappling works in a match. According to his deductions, a fighter will have to stay on top of his opponents after a takedown for a maximum period to ensure victory. However, if an athlete goes flat on the back, the points will go to their opponent until the fighter brings out a submission. Thus, when Downey was handed the loss despite spending a significant amount of time on top of Bradley, not only the 32-year-old but the crowd and commentators too expressed their disbelief. But Pat Downey can leave the CJI with his head held high. After dominating Luke Rockhold in the first match, Downey drew out reactions from names like Bo Nickal. 

Bo Nickal praises Pat Downey

Pat Downey faced one of his toughest opponents, Luke Rockhold, who was a former UFC athlete, in the first round. With the general consensus citing Rockhold as the clear favorite, reality turned out to be quite different. Right from the first round, Downey looked solely in control. With each passing round, Rockhold looked more and more exhausted, which ultimately went in favor of Downey. In a last-ditch effort, Rockhold tried to pressurize Downey from behind for 15 minutes, which did not come to fruition. 

Ultimately, after a lackluster performance from Luke Rockhold, Downey was awarded the victory by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-26). Irked by the display from Luke Rockhold, UFC fighter Bo Nickal said, “CJI judging is a joke. Pat Downey just proved bjj isn’t real and his opponent flopped on his back for 15 min. What a disgrace.” Nickal also praised Pat Downey, saying, “It’s one of those nights where Downey’s win shows how MMA should be organized.” Thus, with Pat Downey visibly angry with his controversial loss, it remains to be seen how well he can cope with the heartbreak and pick himself up again.