Austin O'Connor (born May 14, 1998) is an American folkstyle wrestler from

Lockport, Illinois Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois a ...

. During his collegiate career, O'Connor was a two-time NCAA Wrestling Champion for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. He won his first NCAA Title in 2021 in the 149lb weight class. Two years later in 2023, he followed up with another NCAA title at 157lbs. In total during his collegiate career, O'Connor was a five-time All-American, three-time conference champion and two-time national champion.

High school career

O'Connor was a four-time wrestling state champion in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

for St. Rita of Cascia High School located in

Ashburn, Chicago Ashburn, one of Chicago's 77 community areas, is located on the south side of the city. Greater Ashburn covers nearly five square miles. The approximate boundaries of Ashburn are 72nd Street (north), Western Avenue (east), 87th Street (south) ...

College career

O'Connor finished his collegiate career as a five-time All-American, three-time ACC Champion, and two-time National Champion for

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

as a wrestler.

MMA career

O'Connor has signed a management deal with

American Kickboxing Academy The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a mixed martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent traine ...

. Other notable wrestlers that are part of AKA include

Daniel Cormier Daniel Ryan Cormier (; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler, and current color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a former UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweig ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-rei ...

, and B.J. Penn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Austin 1998 births Living people North Carolina Tar Heels wrestlers