After Kenny Monday was relieved of his duties as head wrestling coach for the Blackzilians mixed martial arts (MMA) camp three months ago, the former Olympic gold medalist has landed back on his feet, as he's been hired to spearhead the wrestling program for Team Takedown.
Serving as home base to current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks, Team Takedown is located in Arlington, Texas.
According to the statement released by the team on its official website, Monday and his family have already made the move from Boca Raton, Florida. Ted Ehrhardt, managing partner of the MMA camp, talked about the hiring.
"After meeting with our head trainer, Marc Laimon, we felt like Kenny Monday would complete our coaching staff. At first, there is always hesitation because we had just won the championship belt with Johny Hendricks, and the old saying ‘if it isn't broken, don't fix it' came to mind, but after bringing Kenny in for a couple weeks and seeing what he could add to our team, it was a no-brainer. I feel like we already had the best trainers in all of MMA, but now we are even that much further ahead of any other gym."
Monday, a former three-time Olympian, joined the Blackzilians in 2013, leaving his position as head coach of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) wrestling program after inking a three-year contract with the MMA camp.
According to team member Rashad Evans, a rift began to form between Monday and the higher-ups at the Backzilians camp toward the end, which ultimately led to his departure from the gym.
Now, Monday will unite with fellow OSU alum and UFC champion, Hendricks, who won back-to-back titles at the university in 2005 and 2006.