J'den Cox Is Making His Return On January 9. This Is Huge!
J'den Cox Is Making His Return On January 9. This Is Huge!
J'den Cox, the nation's top pound-for-pound wrestler, returns on January 9 for the first time in 11 months. This is a huge deal!
J'den Cox hasn't competed since winning the Cerro Pelado in Cuba last February. That means we've been deprived of watching the best wrestler in the US regardless of weight. On January 9, he's coming back to take on his 2018 Final X foe Hayden Zillmer. Cox's return has been highly anticipated, and rightly so. Here are a few reasons J'den's return is so important.
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J'den is P4P Best in the US
Any time J'den Cox steps on the mat, it's appointment viewing. Not only is he a two-time World champ and two-time World/Olympic bronze medalist, he's the top ranked wrestler in the world, pound-for-pound.
While rankings, especially pound-for-pound rankings, are often debated, J'den's status as the top American freestyler was confirmed in April when he was named the John Smith Award winner as the US freestyle wrestler of the year.
Watch behind-the-scenes highlights of J'den Cox's 2019 Final X experience
Hayden Zillmer Presents a Legit Challenge
J'den's match on January 9 against Hayden Zillmer will offer a good indication of how J'den is looking after a long layoff. He's had two kinds of matches against Zillmer in the past. At times, Zillmer has been difficult for J'den to score on while at other times, J'den has figured out how to end the match early.
These two met three times in a two month span in 2018 at the World Team Trials and at Final X. In the first meeting, J'den won 2-0 on the strength of two step outs. Their first match at Final X was a similarly low-scoring 5-2 bout. In their second match at Final X, J'den was able to transition from takedown to turn early in the first period and finished the match with a tech.
While J'den will certainly be the favorite over Zillmer, this match is important because it should show wrestling fans how prepared J'den is to make a run at the US Olympic Trials and Olympic Games.
Match 2 between J'den Cox and Hayden Zillmer at Final X in 2018
Is J'den Ready for Snyder & Sadulaev?
J'den Cox's decision to wrestle 97 kg was some of the biggest news of 2020. His announcement was strategic and thoughtful, and it was rooted in what an Olympic gold medal at 97 kg would mean for his legacy. In short, J'den wanted to beat Snyder and Sadulaev.
While J'den is the top ranked pound-for-pound wrestler in the US, he still sits behind Kyle Snyder in the US Domestic Freestyle Rankings at 97 kg and behind Abdulrashid Sadulaev in the International Rankings. Many wrestling fans believe Cox is ready for both of those opponents, but so far, we've only seen him at 97kg once since announcing his move up from 92 kg where he won both of his world titles.
The new 97 kg data point we'll get on January 9 will serve as fodder for speculating wrestling fans about who will come out on top at the Olympic Trials in State College in April and at the Olympic Games in July and August in Tokyo.