With school closure looming, Notre Dame College wrestlers turned MMA fighters reflect on legacy of program
Ohio has long been ranked as one of the best amateur wrestling states in the country. The state has produced the likes of Olympic gold medalist David Taylor, world champions like Logan Stieber, and NCAA champions like Jim Jordan, Dean Heil, and Jeff “J” Jaggers.
Along with the amateur wrestling prowess, many of the talents have crossed over into the world of mixed martial arts. And some have even won world titles – like Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, and Lance Palmer. Other notables like Rex Holman, Matt Hamill, and Sean Salmon also made waves in the sport.
While much of the attention is focused on the highest level of amateur wrestling, one tiny college in northeast Ohio with an enrollment of around 2,000 has produced more future MMA talent than just about any other school in the country.
Notre Dame College launched an NAIA wrestling program in 2006, and in less than 20 years has produced 88 All-Americans, including 73 NCAA All-Americans since transitioning to Division II in 2012. The school has also won five team NCAA championships and produced 22 individual national champions.
And while that number in itself is impressive, the school has seen more than 30 wrestlers transition into MMA. Those fighters have competed from the smallest regional level to the highest levels of the sport, and the list includes multiple world champions.
Their performance in the MMA world is nothing short of impressive. Combined, the former NDC wrestlers have a pro MMA record of 129-37 and an amateur MMA record of 112-24. That factors to an overall 80% win rate.
The list of names is nothing short of spectacular, including former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, and former ONE strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks.
“I have so many memories and moments in that building with one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever met Sonny Marchette,” said current UFC middleweight Dylan Budka. “That campus is one of the reasons I found the beautiful sport of MMA by the people I met and observed and the people who introduced me to my home gym and new life now.”
The program was largely built by Marchette and former director of recruiting Anthony Ralph, who is now on the staff at Ohio State.
Marchette himself was a former MMA fighter, competing multiple times across Ohio in the early 2000s, including facing future UFC fighter Donny Walker.
Jordon Tague also wrestled at NDC, and after his time there eventually became a graduate assistant and then an assistant coach. He became the head coach in 2022 and has also compete in amateur MMA, compiling a 3-1 record through his first four fights.
As a coach, Tague recently produced his first All-American, as La’Ron Parks finished fourth last month at the NCAA championships.
Tague said that he has used the school’s success in both wrestling as well as MMA as a recruiting tool when talking to young athletes.
“It’s really cool to be a part of that historic factor, what the program has produced outside of wrestling as well,” Tague said when he joined the Ohio MMA Podcast.
“That’s something I’ve told a lot of my wrestlers as well. If that’s your goal, because a lot of wrestlers do look into doing MMA, look at what we’ve produced and the guys that have come out of our program. There are big names, UFC fighters, Bellator fighters, guys that have had a lot of success in the MMA world as well. It was definitely a pretty neat recruiting tool for me as well.”
Unfortunately, news broke earlier this year that the more than 100-year-old school will be closing after the spring semester.
That leaves the legacy of the college and wrestling program suspended in time.
Perhaps the greatest wrestler to come through the program was Joey Davis, who became the first undefeated four-time Division II wrestler, finishing his career 133-0. He, too, has made waves in the MMA realm, compiling an 8-1 record competing for Bellator MMA.
Cobey Fehr, who wrestled and also coached at NDC before transitioning to MMA, was confident that the wrestling room was as good as anywhere in the country.
“When I transferred into Notre Dame in 2013, we were 7/8 deep at every weight,” Fehr said. “We had two lineups that legitimately could compete for the NCAA title in D2. Anthony Ralph, Sonny Marchette and Coach [Frank] Romano ran things like a D1 program. We were by the far the most talented team. Anthony Ralph recruited the best talent in the country every year.”
Anthony Jagel, who is now 1-0 as a pro, said that wrestling at NDC helped him find a path to MMA after college.
“The quote that comes to my mind is always ‘what you put in, is what you get out,'” Jagel said. “Training with many teammates who fight MMA, has helped me out a lot. As the fighters who came before me inspired me to get in the cage later on after college.”
And veteran fighter Brian Hauser said that wrestling at NDC was about more than just competing in a sport.
“NDC was a small school, but we were able to make it from,” Hauser said. “It bought a group of brothers together from all over the country. NDC wrestling prepared me for MMA because it sculpted a championship mindset and work ethic into myself and wrestling at NDC pushed me in ways that helped prepare me for life.”
