Stephen Anthony Abas (born January 12, 1978) is an American

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

and

mixed martial artist 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, incorpo ...

. Abas became a three-time

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

wrestling champion in the weight division while attending

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. He has competed in two world freestyle championships and received a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the 2004

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Early life

Abas graduated from

James Logan High School James Logan High School (also known as JLHS or Logan) is a public high school located in Union City, California. It is part of the New Haven Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area. Awards In 1994 and 1998, Logan was recognized as ...

as a star wrestler. During high school, Abas was a three-time

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

wrestling state champion. Prior to JLHS he attended Canyon Springs High School in

Moreno Valley Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's po ...

. He and his brother Gerry Abas were members of the Wan Tu Wazuri wrestling club at

Oakland Technical High School Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech or simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, United States, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District. It is one of six compre ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

College career

Wrestling for

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

from 1998–2002, he earned four

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honors and three National Championships 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 ...

DI wrestling championships. Abas placed fourth in the 118-pound weight class as a freshman and won the next three years in the weight class. He finished his college career with a 144-4 record, with 46 pins, going undefeated his last two college seasons.

International wrestling career

Abas also is a decorated freestyle wrestler; competing in two world freestyle championships and receiving a

at the 2004

. At the 2005 NCAA championships, he was named as one of the fifteen greatest wrestlers in NCAA history, alongside other standouts such as

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

Cael Sanderson Cael Norman Sanderson ( ; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State University's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic Gold medal and was undefeated in four ...

, and

Dan Gable Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, ...

. Abas was also elected to the NCAA 75th Anniversary Wrestling Team. Abas tried out for the 2008 USA Olympic Team and reached the finals of the Olympic Trials, losing to

Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...

in a best-of-3 series, 2 matches to 1, even though he competed with a damaged knee. In 2008, he retired from competitive wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career

He began an MMA career. He teaches and trains out of The Arena MMA gym in San Diego, alongside other notable athletes such as Diego Sanchez,

Joe Duarte Joe Duarte (born August 4, 1983) is a retired professional mixed martial arts champion and investor from Guam, and is of native Chamorro descent. He currently trains at The Arena Mixed Martial Arts gym in San Diego, California. Early life Dua ...

Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in t ...

, K. J. Noons,

Fabricio Camoes Fabricio () is a Spanish male given name. Fabrício () is the Portuguese equivalent. Among those with the first name are: *Fabricio Coloccini, Argentine footballer * Fabrício Guerreiro (born 1990), Brazilian mixed martial artist *Fabricio Oberto, ...

, and

Xande Ribeiro Alexandre Ribeiro (born January 20, 1981) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler. He is a two-time World Black Belt Absolute (open weight) World ...

MMA record

, - , Win , align=center , 3-0 , Clint Gerona , TKO (Retirement) , Rebel Fighter – Annihilation , August 13, 2011 , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 , Amador County Fairgrounds,

Plymouth, California Plymouth (formerly, Puckerville, Pokerville, and Poker Camp) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2010 census. The town was originally named Pokerville, when it was settled during the time of the ...

, , - , Win , align=center , 2-0 , Joey de la Cruz , Decision (Unanimous) , TPF 5: Stars and Strikes , September 7, 2010 , align=center , 3 , align=center , 3:00 , Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Lemoore, California , , - , Win , align=center , 1-0 , Sam Stevens-Milo , Decision (Majority) , TPF 4: Cinco de Mayhem , May 5, 2010 , align=center , 3 , align=center , 3:00 , Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Lemoore, California , Bantamweight debut

Personal life

In 2009, Abas was inducted into the

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2018, Abas was inducted into the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

as a Distinguished Member.Stephen Abas
''National Wrestling Hall of Fame''. Retrieved September 18, 2022.

References

External links

The Arena

Stephen Abas profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abas, Stephen Living people Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 1978 births Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 20th-century American people 21st-century American people