The Series: Burroughs 4, Dake 0

The talk of the U.S. Open is the men's freestyle 74kg bracket. Most notably, a potential match up between 4x World and Olympic Champion Jordan Burroughs and a consistent No. 2 in the USA, Kyle Dake.

Apr 24, 2017 by Mark Bader

It's happening. Jordan Burroughs and Kyle Dake will wrestle tonight in the U.S. Open finals. These two have history, it's been all Burroughs at this point, but Dake is wrestling better than ever. Both have steamrolled through the bracket with the best in the nation, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 56-2.

Here's a quick rundown of Dake and Burroughs run to the U.S. Open Finals.

Jordan Burroughs US Open Performance:
Jordan Burroughs TF Jeremy Anderson, 10-0
Jordan Burroughs d. Mike Moreno, 4-0
Jordan Burroughs d. Dan Vallimont, 6-0
Jordan Burroughs TF Kevin LeValley, 12-2

Kyle Dake US Open Performance:
Kyle Dake TF Tyrel White, 10-0
Kyle Dake TF Vlad Dombrovskiy, 11-0
Kyle Dake d. Alex Dieringer, 3-0

The men's freestyle 74kg bracket is the talk of the U.S. Open heading into Las Vegas this week -- most notably, a potential matchup between four-time world and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs and the consistently No. 2-ranked wrestler in the USA, Kyle Dake.

Dake went up to 86kg a year ago, because he felt he had a better chance at making the Olympic team since Burroughs had an automatic bye to the finals of the Olympic Team Trials. The move nearly paid off for Dake, who made it to the finals of the Olympic Trials but lost in a best-of-three series to eventual Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox.

Burroughs, who fell short at the Olympics and failed to medal, now has to wrestle in the U.S. Open if he wants a chance to sit out until the finals of the World Team Trials.

Dake saw that as an opportunity for a more level playing field. This year would be the first opportunity for Dake to get a crack at Burroughs after they both wrestle through a tournament. The two have wrestled four matches, with Burroughs winning them all.

2013 World Team Trials (Match 1)

There was a big question surrounding the first meeting between these two wrestlers at the World Team Trials in 2013. Everyone was wondering how Kid Dynamite, the four-time NCAA champion, would fare as he faced the world's best wrestler. Burroughs left no doubt who was king when he scored a first-period tech fall over Dake.

2013 World Team Trials (Match 2)

Many wondered if Burroughs would steamroll him again when they met again in match two, but -- being the ultra-competitor that he is -- Dake made big adjustments from the previous match and pushed Burroughs to the brink, even throwing the champ into the scoring table. At the end of regulation the score was knotted 6-6, with Dake holding "criteria." But it had been decided that USA Wrestling would use overtime to determine a tie, rather than criteria. In OT, it was Burroughs earning the takedown and win.

2015 World Team Trials (Match 1)

In 2015, Dake, once again, won the mini-tournament and faced Burroughs for the right to represent the world team at the World Championships. After the first period, Dake led Burroughs 2-1, but a close call on the edge in the second period gave four points to Burroughs, which ended up being the difference.

2015 World Team Trials (Match 2)

The final meeting between Burroughs and Dake was the second match of the 2015 WTT finals series, and Burroughs nearly ended the bout in the opening moments. A low single into a leg lace essentially put the match out of reach for Dake almost as soon as it started, and Burroughs eventually ended the match by tech fall.

The difference this weekend, of course, is that if these two guys meet in the finals, they will both have gone through a full tournament and will meet on an even playing field.

A lot of people are intrigued by this potential matchup and think the time could finally be now for Dake. Let's just remember that the overall series record between the two is 4-0 in favor of Burroughs.

Who are you picking?