Townsend Saunders (born April 20, 1967) is an Olympic silver medalist in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

. Collegiately, Saunders was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

and an NCAA Division II National Champion for California State University-Bakersfield. Townsend was also a

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

gold medalist in 1994 and won two

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

gold medals in 1991 and 1995.

Biography

Saunders was born in

White Sands, New Mexico White Sands is a census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. It consists of the main residential area on the White Sands Missile Range. As of the 2010 census the population of the CDP was 1,651. It is part of ...

. Known in college as "Junior" Saunders, he adopted his given name in international competition. In 1985, he was a California State runner-up while wrestling for

Torrance High School Torrance High School is a high school located in Torrance, California. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and is the oldest of the five high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. Four ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

. Townsend Saunders has also competed in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

, at

UFC 16 ''UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 13, 1998, in Kenner, Louisiana. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video. Hi ...

and

UFC 18 ''UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 8, 1999 in Kenner, Louisiana. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on h ...

. Saunders is married to Tricia Saunders, a four-time

FILA Fila (; ) is a South Korean-owned athleisure brand headquartered in Seoul. The company was originally founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Italy. Fila Korea acquired the brand in 2007 and launched its initial p ...

World Champion in women's freestyle wrestling, and is the father of three children. In 2019, Saunders was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.Townsend Saunders
''National Wrestling Hall of Fame''. Retrieved September 18, 2022.

Mixed martial arts record

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Kenner, Louisiana Kenner is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the most populous city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, and is the largest incorporated suburban city of New Orleans. The population was 66,448 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 0–1 ,

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...

, Decision (split) ,

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, United States , MMA Debut.

Submission grappling record

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References

External links

*
Townsend "Junior" Saunders at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame site
* 1967 births Living people Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Arizona State University alumni People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-Olympic-medalist-stub