MMA

Grapple at the Garden returns to MSG in December

The world’s best wrestlers will be on display at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1.

The World’s Most Famous Arena will host the second annual Grapple at the Garden, highlighted by a main event featuring two of the NCAA’s greatest wrestlers. Four-time champion Kyle Dake will face 2011 champion Bubba Jenkins in a must-see freestyle wrestling showdown. Dake, a former Cornell standout who was the first wrestler in NCAA history to win a national title in four different weight classes, will take on Jenkins, now a mixed martial arts fighter.

“It is very exciting to once again compete on one of the greatest stages in the world, in one of the greatest cities in the world,” Dake said. “Personally, I am also really excited to compete against Bubba Jenkins. As a two-time NCAA national finalist, all wrestling fans know he is a great competitor. This year’s Grapple at the Garden event will be ground breaking for the sport of Wrestling, and promises to inspire thousands of young athletes as they chase their dreams.”

Jenkins, a top prospect in MMA, fights for Bellator and is 4-1.

College wrestling will also be on display, as Army, Bloomsburg, Boston University, Cornell, Drexel, George Mason, Hofstra, Illinois, Maryland, Penn, Princeton and Rutgers will compete, along with local programs Stevens Institute of Technology and NYU meeting in a Division III contest. Club teams from Stony Brook and Westchester Community College will also be part of an unprecedented 16-team one-day dual meet.

“Last year the Garden hosted one of the greatest collegiate events I have ever seen outside of the NCAA Championships,” Army head coach Joe Heskett said. “Our team is excited to compete and to win at MSG. This season’s Grapple at the Garden will be another outstanding day of collegiate wrestling in the world’s greatest city.”

Joining the college programs will be a 16-team high school contest, the Beat The Streets PSAL thanksgiving Dual Meet Invitational. It includes Horace Mann, Monsignor Farrell, Brooklyn Tech, PolyPrep, Cardozo, Martin Luther King Jr., Eagle Academy, Fordham Prep, James Madison, New Utrecht, Petrides, Martin Luther, Mount St. Michael, Wingate, Grand Street Campus and Curtis.

Furthermore, the finals of the inaugural Grapple at the Garden middle school championship will be held at MSG. For all middle school wrestlers interested in registering to compete, visit http://www.wrestlereg.com on or after October 1. Valid tournament registration includes two tickets to all Grapple at the Garden festivities. All competitors must have a current USA Wrestling card.

Tickets cost $20.00 and can be purchased at the Garden’s box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at http://www.thegarden.com/grapple.