Taha Akgul Targets Gold at 2024 Olympics, Reveals MMA Interest

Combat sports fans may remember freestyle wrestling ace Taha Akgul for his dominant, gold medal-winning run at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a bronze medal in Tokyo four years later. The Turkish heavyweight machine plans to take part in the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games, where he aims to capture gold again, but he also has his eye on putting on the four-ounce gloves at some point.

“I am preparing for Paris already and after Paris I will be done with wrestling,” Akgul said. “I hope I will go in the UFC, maybe. I don't know, maybe MMA, yes. I'm speaking like this, but I don’t know. How can I say? My first target are of course the 2024 Olympic Games because I can win again the gold medal because I'm still strong.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:41) Winning the gold medal at the 2022 European Championships
(01:41) Preparing for the 2024 Olympic games
(02:49) His wrestling career
(04:45) His passion for wrestling
(07:12) Paradigm Sports signing Taha
(08:29) Investing in wrestling
(09:21) Wrestling’s potential
(11:05) Confirming that Akgul will try MMA
(13:17) His first striking training
(14:09) The MMA fighters he likes watching
(14:43) Hoping to fight Daniel Cormier and Francis Ngannou
(15:32) Akgul’s greetings
(16:44) Fish’s greetings
(17:05) Outro