Birth name Siamak Ghaffari Name Matt Ghaffari | Country United States Height 1.93 m Years active 1984–2000 Role Olympic athlete | |
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Residence Cleveland, Ohio, United States Silver medals Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's Greco-Roman Super Heavyweight | ||
After 10 years olympic silver medalist matt ghaffari returns to competition
Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( ; Persian: سیامک غفاری, [siːɒːmæk-e ɢæˈffɒːɾiː]; born November 11, 1961 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team member, obtaining a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. Ghaffari is one of the most accomplished and decorated Greco-Roman wrestlers in U.S.A. history with 3 USA Records.[1]
Contents
- After 10 years olympic silver medalist matt ghaffari returns to competition
- Distinguished Member Matt Ghaffari speech and award presentation at NWHOF Banquet
- Early life
- Amateur wrestling career
- Mixed martial arts career
- Professional wrestling career
- In wrestling
- Championships and accomplishments
- References
Distinguished Member Matt Ghaffari speech and award presentation at NWHOF Banquet
Early life
Ghaffari attended Paramus High School in Paramus, New Jersey.
Ghaffari's biggest High School match was pinning Ron Dini of Pascack Hills High School NJ power house and Sealed the dual meet win 27-17 after that Paramus went on to be undefeated in 1979 and were NNJIL Champions.
Amateur wrestling career
Representing the United States at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games and 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Ghaffari reached the final of the heavyweight Men's Greco-Roman 130 kg division, where he lost a very close match 0-1 to Russia's 2-time Olympic champion Aleksandr Karelin in overtime. Ghaffari is holder of 3 American Records; the only USA Greco- Roman wrestler with total of four World and Olympic Medals, plus 4-time World Cup Champion, also 9-time Pan-American Champion! All 3 are USA Wrestling Records. Matt was 7-time USA National Wrestling Champion and 2-time USA Olympic Committee Greco-Roman Athlete of the Year.[2]
Distinguished Member of USA National Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2013 [3]
Member Cleveland State University Hall of Fame class of 2006
Member Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame class of 2003 [4]
Winner of Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation Inspiration Award
Mixed martial arts career
In 2002, Ghaffari fought in Tokyo Dome in front of 100,000 spectators a mixed martial arts bout in UFO- Universal Fighting-Arts Organization against judo Olympic Silver Medalist 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.
Professional wrestling career
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.
After his stint in MMA, Ghaffari stated to work 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. They held the championship until April 29, 2003, when they lost it to Hashimoto and Ogawa.
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).