The Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC), an MMA developmental league, has created an NIL (Name, Image and Licensing) program for collegiate wrestlers that it hopes will help find the next wave of mixed martial arts stars. So many of the best MMA fighters have come from wrestling, but there is no pro route for wrestlers other than MMA.
Given that the vast majority of NIL money goes to football and basketball, collegiate wrestlers often struggle. XFC, which is staging a pay-per-view card in Milwaukee on Sept. 27, has chosen five wrestlers as its first batch of NIL athletes, as well as as three ambassadors. Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo, a 2008 Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler, and ex-UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens are signed onto the program as ambassadors, along with the Florida Wrestling Room.
The NIL athletes are Penn State wrestlers Daniel Greg Kerkvliet; Beau Bartlett and Zack Ryder; Cayden Henschel of Wisconsin-Parkside and Daton Fix of Oklahoma State.
“XFC has devised an NIL division to engage a master class of mixed martial artists with an emerging league of apprentices who are currently honing their professional MMA skill sets within collegiate wrestling programs across the country,” said Chris Defendis, president of Xtreme One Entertainment. “We look forward to hosting some of our newly signed NIL athletes at XFC 51 in Milwaukee as we start this first phase of prospect development.”
Kerkvliet is the 2024 NCAA champion at 285 pounds after being the runner-up at 285 in 2023. He competed in the Craig Jones Invitational submission grappling tournament in Las Vegas last month, but lost his opening round match.
Bartlett was the runner-up at 141 pounds in the NCAA Division I championships in Kansas City, Mo., this year, and finished third last year. He is close with former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal, now a rising UFC middleweight contender.
Nickal raved about Bartlett.
"I've known Beau since he was in high school and he's always been a dynamic, entertaining and extremely exciting competitor," Nickal said. "Whether he is stepping onto the mat in front of thousands of fans or doing flip videos in the wrestling room, he's always been must-see TV. I know Beau and he is the type of person who will be successful at whatever he chooses to do."
Ryder is a freshman at Penn State. He won a silver medal at the Under-20 world championships in Spain at 174 pounds earlier this month. A red-shirt junior, Henschel was 22-5 at 141 pounds in the 2023-24 season. Fix, 26, was 168-0 in high school and won four Oklahoma state championships. He was a four-time runner-up in the national championships at 133 pounds while competing for Oklahoma State.
The main event of XFC 51 will be a heavyweight bout between ex-UFC fighters, with Alex Nicholson taking on Zac Pauga.