Most of the wrestling community is sighing in relief at the thought of Kyle Dake, Jordan Burroughs, and David Taylor finally competing in different weight classes and earning spots on the same world team together. 

But don’t go giving Dake the spot just yet. He still has one of the best up-and-coming young talents in the country to deal with at Final X in State College, PA, this Saturday night. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind leading up to this 79kg showdown. 

Watch Final X - State College LIVE on FloWrestling

Top Game On Point

I've been screaming from the mountaintop over the last year or two that the U.S. is getting exponentially better on top in freestyle. One of the best litmus tests for having a real top game is if you get turns against foreign opponents. Dake consistently does. Transitionally turning foreigners is one thing, but Dake’s gut is so good that he can score when his opponent’s defenses have been established on the bottom. 

In this match, watch Dake squeeze over a gut on Olympic medalist Livan Lopez.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Zahid’s Pace

One thing that we talk about in the office is how certain guys have the ability to push the pace on you. Kyle Snyder can do it better than most. Pushing pace can get you in some trouble though. Take a look at what happened to Snyder at Beat the Streets this year in New York City. As he pushed the pace against one of the strongest wrestlers in the world, Salas Perez, Snyder almost wound up in the East River when he tried to stay in bounds after Salas drove in on a far-knee pick. Valencia has the ability to push the pace on just about anyone, but the thing that separates him from other guys that tend to push the pace is that he also has the ability to down-shift the pace when the position isn’t favorable for him. 

Take a look at this sequence against Josh Asper. Valencia goes right-hand club, level change, snap down, go-behind, level change again, and double leg. That’s pace! Asper defends all of that and then tries to slow Valencia down by digging in an underhook. The interesting thing to me is that instead of rushing to clear the tie or trying to wrestle through it all in the name of pushing the pace Valencia simply defends the hook with a thigh pry and waits until Asper gets tired of carrying his weight and bails on the control tie. Valencia will have next to no room for error against Dake—controlling the pace of the match might just keep him in it.

 

Doubles 

Dake has been trying to break through onto a world team since he’s been out of college and one man has stood in his way for most of that time: Jordan Burroughs. Before you start feeling sorry for Dake, understand that when you are chasing the greatest of all time you raise your own level in the process. 

It’s no secret that JB has one of the best double legs in the world. It’s also no secret that Dake spent countless hours defending doubles in preparation for Burroughs. 

Take a look at match number one from last year’s World Team Trials finals in Lincoln, NE. Dake wins the match 6-6 on criteria. Dake eats three SERIOUS double legs from the greatest and only gives up step-outs.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Valencia’s primary offensive attack is a double leg from space. It’s hard to imagine that his double is as good or better than JB’s. However, Valencia does have one thing that JB does not: an upper body attack. 

Valencia has a really nice slide-by. Do I think that he’s going to score on Kyle Dake with it? Nope. But if he can get a decent angle off of it, he might be able to pop off a double while Dake is still defending the slide-by.