MMA Fighters that Competed in Connecticut High School Wrestling
by Brian Woodman Jr. on 12/28/16
By Terry Sutton
Nick Newell - Best known as a retired MMA fighter who was born with congenital defect of one his arms. He competes essentially with half an arm and successfully beats opponents to a tune of a 14 win and one loss record while he contended for the WSOF lightweight title. In High School he wrestled for Jonathan Law in Milford where as a senior in 2004 he took fourth place in the State Open Championships at the 130 pound weight class. That year he took home a 53-10 record wrestling in several different weight classes. Wrestled at Western New England college and was captain his senior year.
TJ Hepburn - With a 4-2 professional record, he has fought on the undercard of some Bellator events. At Ledyard high school, he was one of the most accomplished wrestlers ever in Connecticut. He was a three time State Open Champion, Two Time New England Champion and even won the National Championship at 135 pounds his junior year. Hepburn had an amazing record of 194 wins and only 3 losses which he finished in 2007. While in College at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, he was the NCAA Division II national wrestling championship at 157 pounds.
Brennan Ward - One of several standouts for Waterford High School, he has continued his success as a competitor in several main card bouts for the Bellator Promotion where he has a record of 14 wins and 4 losses in the Octagon. During his senior year of high school in 2006, he took 2nd place in the State Open Championships at 135. In the finals of that tournament he lost to TJ Hepburn by a score of 9-2. Ward would also place 5th in the New England Championships later that year. He went on to wrestle for Division Three school, Johnson & Wales. There he had won the New England Title and earned All-American honors by being the runner-up for the 184 pounds Division Three Championship.
Orville Palmer - A Middletown High School Wrestling Standout who won 2 State Open and New England Championships. This monster of the wrestling mat also had 114 wins and only 5 losses He graduated to wrestle for the Division One University of Oklahoma. He placed 7th at 197 pound weight class in the 2000 NCAA Championships. Competed in Mixed Martial Arts and attained a 4-0 record which included a stint in the now defunct International Fight League in which many fighters went on to compete in the UFC.
Ryan Quinn - Has been a familiar face in many MMA promotions including Bellator where he posts a professional record of 13 wins and 6 losses. In High School, he competed for New Fairfield High School and placed 2nd in the State Open in Wrestling at 160 pounds in both 2004 and 2005. Went on to Scared Heart and wrestled there for college.
