Greg Jones is one of the most successful American collegiate

wrestlers Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

of all-time. At

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, Jones won three

NCAA Division 1 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

wrestling titles - one of only 39 wrestlers to accomplish that feat in the tournament's 75-year history. Shortly after his 5-3 decision of

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

's Tyler Baier in the 184 pound finals, Jones was named the 2005 tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. In addition to his title in 2005, Jones won the 184 pound title in 2004 and the 174 pound title as a freshman in 2002. Jones is currently serving as the Head Wrestling Coach for

Sanford MMA Kill Cliff FC, officially known as Kill Cliff Fight Club (formerly known as Sanford MMA, Hard Knocks 365 and Combat Club) is a mixed martial arts gym based in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It was originally founded in 2017 by Henri Hooft and Greg Jo ...

in Deerfield Beach FL.

Background

Greg Jones was born on August 10, 1982, in

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...

. He was the third of 5 children. Greg's older brother Vertus was a 3-time All-American wrestler. Both brothers were inducted into the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Moun ...

Hall of Fame in 2019. In

Greensburg-Salem School District The Greensburg-Salem School District is a public school district in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. T ...

Jones won the PIAA championship as a member of the Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions wrestling team and was a two-time state champion. Greg went on to win three national championships as a member of the

West Virginia University Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Mou ...

. He set his high school's record for career wins. Despite not playing football in college, Jones worked out for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

prior to the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

Coaching

Jones went on to coach for the Mountaineer wrestling team for 9 years until he was offered a head coach wrestling position. At

Blackzilians The Blackzilians was a professional team of fighters in mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, amateur wrestling and catch wrestling located in South Florida. The team had included former UFC champions Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Eddie Alvarez ...

since the summer of 2014, Jones has been one of the top wrestling coaches in

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

training top contenders the likes of Anthony Johnson, Rashad Evans, Michael Johnson, and

Eddie Alvarez Edward "Eddie" Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight (170 lb) division of ONE Championship. He also formerly competed in the UFC and Bellator MMA, winning world titles ...

to name a few.

Suspension

In late 2020, Jones and

Henri Hooft Henri Hooft, also known as Harry Hooft (born May 21, 1969), is a Dutch former kickboxer and trainer. He is the head trainer at Kill Cliff FC and formerly the Blackzilians. Career Hooft was born and raised in The Hague, Netherlands. At the age ...

were suspended for three months after they broke

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

protocols by leaving their hotel rooms while quarantining preceding Bellator 253.

Noteworthy statistics

* One of 39 3-time NCAA champions * One of 20 wrestlers to win titles at two weights * One of 10 wrestlers to win a national title as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

* 126-4 career record * His only losses were to Otto Olson of Michigan (9-8), Ralph Everett (3-2 t.b.), and

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

of Michigan State (3-2). The fourth loss was a forfeit. * West Virginia's all-time wins leader * Undefeated his junior and senior years * Ended career with a 51-match win streak * 4-time

Eastern Wrestling League The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) was an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It was made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences did not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event. The teams ha ...

(EWL) champion * First EWL wrestler to be named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament * Was taken down just ten times in his career. Twice by Tom Meester of Augustana College. * Outscored opponents 298-82 his senior year * Voted 2004 West Virginia

Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Athlete of the Year * 17-2 record in 4 NCAA tournaments * Member of the Eastern Wrestling League and NWCA All-Academic Teams * Inducted into the

Hall of Fame with the Class of 2019 along with his brother Vertus Jones

External links

Article on Greg Jones' Induction into West Virginia University's Hall of Fame

West Virginia University Hall of Fame Entry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Greg 1982 births Living people American male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Pennsylvania West Virginia Mountaineers wrestlers