Olympic wrestling champion Jeff Blatnick dead at 55
Olympic wrestling gold medalist and longtime MMA advocate Jeff Blatnick has died after complications from heart surgery.
Blatnick took home the gold in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 and was also a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, which remained home after President Carter announced a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Blatnick was a commentator in the early days of UFC before being replaced after UFC 32 in June 2001.
Blatnick, who helped develop some of the rules of MMA still used today, became a licensed judge with the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.
At the time of his death, Blatnick was a varsity wrestling coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High in Glen Falls, N.Y.
You can read more about Blatnick and his instrumental role in the development of UFC’s roles in this piece written by Todd Martin.
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