Townsend Saunders
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| Born | April 20, 1967 (age 57) White Sands, New Mexico, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Torrance, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Arizona State Cal State Bakersfield | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Bobby Douglas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Townsend Saunders (born April 20, 1967) is an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling.[1] Collegiately, Saunders was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at Arizona State University and an NCAA Division II National Champion for California State University-Bakersfield. Townsend was also a Goodwill Games gold medalist in 1994 and won two Pan American Games gold medals in 1991 and 1995.
Biography
[edit]Saunders was born in White Sands, New Mexico. Known in college as "Junior" Saunders,[2] he adopted his given name in international competition. In 1985, he was a California State runner-up while wrestling for Torrance High School in Torrance, California. Townsend Saunders has also competed in mixed martial arts for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, at UFC 16 and UFC 18.
Saunders is married to Tricia Saunders, a four-time FILA World Champion in women's freestyle wrestling, and is the father of three children.
In 2019, Saunders was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.[3]
Mixed martial arts record
[edit]| 2 matches | 0 wins | 2 losses |
| By decision | 0 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–2 | Mikey Burnett | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 18 | January 8, 1999 | 1 | 15:00 | Kenner, Louisiana, United States | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Pat Miletich | Decision (split) | UFC 16 | March 13, 1998 | 1 | 15:00 | Kenner, Louisiana, United States | MMA Debut. |
Submission grappling record
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Dan, Gable (December 1, 1998). Coaching Wrestling Successfully. Human Kinetics. ISBN 978-0-87322-404-8.
- ^ Rowe, Reginald E. (May 9, 2016). The Golden Era of Amateur Wrestling: 1980S. Archway Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4808-2963-3.
- ^ Townsend Saunders. National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
External links
[edit]- Professional MMA record for Townsend Saunders from Sherdog
- Townsend "Junior" Saunders at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame site
- Townsend Saunders at UFC
  | This biographical article relating to an American sport wrestler or wrestling coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about an Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- American male sport wrestlers
- Arizona State University alumni
- People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico
- American male mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling
- Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling
- Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games
- Goodwill Games medalists in wrestling
- Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games
- Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
- Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American sport wrestler stubs
- American Olympic medalist stubs