Matt Ghaffari

Matt Ghaffari
Personal information
Birth name Siamak Ghaffari
Born November 11, 1961 (1961-11-11) (age 54)
Tehran, Iran
Residence Cleveland, Ohio
Alma mater Cleveland State University ’84
Years active 1984–2000
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 130 kg (287 lb)
Sport
Country  United States
Sport Amateur wrestling
Event(s) Greco-Roman
University team Cleveland State Vikings (1981–84)
Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (1979–80)
Club Sunkist Kids

Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari (/ɡəˈfɑːri/ gə-FAR-ee;[1] Persian: سیامک غفاری, Persian pronunciation: [siːɒːmæk-e ɢæˈffɒːɾiː]; born November 11, 1961 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. He was a two-time Olympic team member, obtaining a silver medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Ghaffari attended Paramus High School in Paramus, New Jersey.[2]

Amateur wrestling career

Representing the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Ghaffari reached the final of the Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg, where he lost to Russia's Aleksandr Karelin. In total, he won four World and Olympic Medals.[2]

Mixed martial arts career

Matt Ghaffari
Division Heavyweight
Years active 2002
Mixed martial arts record
Total 1
Wins 0
Losses 1
By knockout 1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

In 2002, Ghaffari fought a mixed martial arts bout in Universal Fighting-Arts Organization against world judo champion Naoya Ogawa. Ghaffari managed to take Ogawa down and attack him with a brief ground and pound, but back to standing, Ogawa landed a punch which shifted Matt's left eye contact lens and forced him to quit.[3]

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 0-1 Japan Naoya Ogawa TKO (punch) UFO Legend August 8, 2002 1 0:56 Tokyo, Japan

Professional wrestling career

Matt Ghaffari
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Matt Ghaffari[4]
Billed height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[4]
Billed weight 280 lb (130 kg)[4]
Debut 8 December 2002[4]

In 1996, Ghaffari was scouted by professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling and was featured in several vignettes, but did not sign up with the company.[5]

After his stint in MMA, Ghaffari stated to work in in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, where he won the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship with Tom Howard on December 15, 2002 by defeating Shinya Hashimoto and old opponent Naoya Ogawa.[6] They held the championship until April 29, 2003, when they lost it to Hashimoto and Ogawa.[6]

In 2004, Ghaffari made an apparition for HUSTLE, pinning Ogawa after a beatdown from the heel faction Monster Army (Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Dusty Rhodes Jr., Giant Silva and Dan Bobish).[7]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. "Matt Ghaffari". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Robbins, Liz. "OLYMPICS; Wrestler Two Victories From Dream", The New York Times, June 24, 2000. Accessed October 17, 2007. "To advance, Ghaffari had to pull out a trick he first used two decades ago at Paramus High School in New Jersey.... At 38, and a loss away from retirement, Ghaffari is still crafty and accomplished, compiling more Olympic and world championship medals than any other Greco-Roman wrestler with four."
  3. Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors – August News Part 2
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Matt Ghaffari". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  5. Dimitri Groell, Jan Niedbala, La face cachée du catch: Ring, Coulisses & Business
  6. 1 2 3 "NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions". Pro Wrestling ZERO-1. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
  7. "HUSTLE Results: 2004" (in German). PuroLove.com. Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  8. "Pro-Wrestling ZERO-ONE - "01 DIVISION 2003"" (in German). PuroLove.com. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
  9. "Pro-Wrestling ZERO-ONE - "EPICENTER 2002"" (in German). PuroLove.com. Retrieved 2013-10-27.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 31, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.