Blatnick never stepped into the Octagon as a fighter. However, the wrestling star was instrumental in shaping mixed martial arts (MMA) in general -- and UFC in particular -- in a number of ways, including as an UFC event commentator for every UFC event from the beginning in 1994 through 2001, and as a UFC commissioner ... and, perhaps more fundamentally, as someone who helped develop rules for the sport, and was a major force in helping to reshape a negative public perception of the UFC early in its history.
Jeff Blatnick"Jeff recognized that those problems weren't going to go away on their own," longtime referee John McCarthy told MMAJunkie.com. Blatnick was instrumental in developing unified rules for MMA in 2001 ... and, in fact, helping to rebrand the sport as MMA which, for years previously, had been known as no holds barred, or NHB.
"Jeff was fond of referring to the sport as a 'mixing of the martial arts,' and realized that the terms 'no-holds-barred', 'vale tudo', or 'cage fighting' would hamper the acceptance of the sport by regulators, distributors and sponsors," said Nick Lembo, counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board which governs MMA in the Garden State. "Jeff had the foresight to see that the sport's growth required a detailed rule set, a list of prohibited actions, and the oversight of athletic commissions in order to grow the sport."
The fact that Jeff Blatnick had won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics -- despite having battled Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, and had his spleen and appendix removed -- was critical to his success in helping to reshape MMA. It got him in front of politicians and other decision-makers to make his case for UFC. And Blatnick's efforts helped open the door to new career opportunities for other Olympians and former college wrestling stars once they had hung up their singlets, from Olympic gold medalist wrestlers such as Mark Schultz and Kevin Jackson in the 1990s, all the way up to judo bronze medalist Ronda Rousey and wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo in the current era.
"I think he fell in love with the idea that this sport gave wrestlers something to do and somewhere to go," McCarthy said. "If you wanted to wrestle in the Olympics and that was your dream, great, but if you wanted to do something later on, this was going to be an avenue you could take. This was something that he honestly believed would help wrestling grow, because that was first love. And he was right. MMA has helped wrestling, and wrestling has helped MMA. He was absolutely correct that a lot of great wrestlers would enter MMA and become great fighters."
As MMAJunkie.com concluded its profile of Blatnick on the eve of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, "What's often forgotten now is the full extent of his impact on MMA, from reshaping the name and the perception of the sport, to developing the modern rulebook, and even pushing for certain figures who would go on to have a profound effect on the future of the UFC."
No less a figure than UFC President Dana White weighed in, saying, "Jeff Blatnick is a name that newer fans may not be familiar with, but this guy was a huge part of the UFC's development in the 1990s. He pushed for greater regulation, unified rules and -- because he was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling -- he had credibility with everyone in the sport. It is our honor to recognize his huge contributions to the UFC by inducting him into the UFC Hall of Fame."
Beyond his involvement in UFC, Blatnick was well-known as a commentator for NCAA and Olympic wrestling telecasts. The New York native first made a name for himself on the wrestling mat at Niskayuna High School, where he won the New York state title in the heavyweight division in 1975. He then continued his mat career at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., where he won two NCAA Division II heavyweight titles, then became a two-time NCAA Division I All-American, placing sixth at the 1978 NCAAs and third in 1979. (Back then, D2 wrestling champs were eligible to compete at the NCAA Div. I Championships.)
Blatnick earned a place on two U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling teams. The 1980 squad did not compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. However, Blatnick was able to compete at the 1984 Olympics, where he won the gold medal in superheavyweight competition, joining Steve Fraser as the first two U.S. Greco wrestlers to claim gold in Olympic competition. Blatnick carried the flag for the U.S. at the Closing Ceremonies at the '84 Games. His story of overcoming cancer made his Olympic accomplishments all the sweeter, and made him known to a wider public beyond the amateur wrestling community.
In addition to serving as a UFC commentator during the organization's formative years, Blatnick was instrumental in helping to establish rules for the sport, and, in fact, was licensed as an MMA judge and referee in New Jersey. He also remained connected to wrestling, serving as a high school coach in upstate New York right up to his passing in October 2012, the result of cardio-pulmonary arrest following heart surgery in Schenectady, N.Y. at age 55.
Jeff Blatnick was welcomed as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. in 1999.
In addition to Jeff Blatnick, others who are being welcomed into the UFC Hall of Fame include Frank Trigg, Matt Hughes, Bas Rutten, and B.J. Penn.
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