Born in
Reno, Nevada, Taylor attended
Graham High School in
St. Paris, Ohio. As a
high schooler, Taylor became a four-time
OHSAA state champion with an outstanding 180–2 record and graduated with a 4.0
GPA. He received the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2009 as the nation's top high school wrestler.[6][7]
As a
junior, he faced
Kyle Dake from
Cornell in the NCAA finals, who moved up to attempt to become the third
four-time NCAA champion and the first to win titles at four different weight classes in the history of the
NCAA. After a back-and-forth battle, Taylor was defeated 5–4.[9] As a
senior, he once again had an undefeated campaign, claimed his second NCAA title, helped clinch the team title for the
Nittany Lions, and became the third multiple-time
Dan Hodge Trophy winner in history.[10] Taylor graduated with 134 wins and three losses, 50
pins, 42
technical falls, and 29
major decisions.[10]
Freestyle career
2010–2012
Taylor made his
freestyle debut in April 2010, when he claimed a University US National title.[11] In 2012, he competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, where he went 3–2.[12]
Now able to focus on freestyle full-time after graduating from college, Taylor opened up the 2015 year with a fifth-place finish at the
Yasar Dogu, where he went 3–2.[20] He then claimed his first US Open National title in May,[21] followed up by a
technical fall over Cuba's
Liván López at Beat the Streets.[22] In his fourth attempt to make the US World Team, Taylor was once again overpowered by
Kyle Dake in the challenge tournament, but he came back and claimed the third place when he beat veteran Andrew Howe.[23] Taylor then claimed Grand Prix of Spain and Stepan Sargsyan Cup gold medals in July,[24][25] before making the decision to bulk up to the 86 kilogram division on September.[26] Taylor took fifth-place at the Golden Grand Prix of November, and seemed overpowered in his first tournament at a new weight class.[27] On December, Taylor competed at the US Senior Nationals, and after running through '14 US World Team member and teammate
Ed Ruth,[28] Taylor was defeated by long-time rival
Kyle Dake.[29]
In 2016, Taylor was unable to make the US Olympic Team, as he was defeated by
Dake for the fifth time in the senior level, forcing Taylor to battle for the bronze medal, which he comfortably earned.[30] He then claimed his second Spain Grand Prix title on July,[31] and competed again at the
World Clubs Cup of December, where he went 3-1 and helped TMWC reach the first-place, while also defeating the accomplished
Alireza Karimi.[32]
Taylor claimed his second US national title in April, with an overall score of 40–4 against five opponents.[37] After a quick win at Beat the Streets,[38] Taylor made the World Team Trials finals when he ran through '16 US OTT
Greco-Roman champion
Joe Rau and '12 Junior World Championship runner-up
Pat Downey, and defeated three-time
NCAA Division I All-American Nick Heflin to make the
best-of-three, where he faced returning
Olympic Bronze medalistJ'den Cox.[39] In the first match, Taylor rallied comfortably with a 9–3 win, but was closely defeated in the second match 4–3, leading to a controversial third bout due to Cox's sweat and alleged passivity, which caused Taylor to kick the challenge cube and his cornerman
Cael Sanderson to throw items at the official and a chair onto the mat after losing 5–3.[40][41]
He came back to competition at the World Clubs Cup on December, where he helped the TMWC to second place with notable victories over
Alireza Karimi and
Pawan Kumar.[42]
2018
To start off the year, Taylor became only the 12th
American to claim a gold medal at the
Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix, considered the toughest open tournament in the world.[43] He opened with a win over two-time (and
defending)
Pan American champion
Yurieski Torreblanca, followed by
Selim Yaşar on points and a fall over '17 Junior World Champion
Artur Naifonov to make the finals. In the finals, he got another fall, this time over
Fatih Erdin, to claim the
gold medal.[44] On April, he claimed his second consecutive
World Cup championship, recording four technical falls to help secure the gold medal for the United States.[45][46] He also clinched his third US National title, with four victories over fellow Americans.[47]
On May, he claimed his first Pan American title, with notable wins over
Yurieski Torreblanca,
Pool Ambrocio and
Eduardo Gajardo.[48] On his seventh attempt to make the US World/Olympic Team, Taylor finally and dominantly was able to punch tickets to the
World Championships, when he defeated '18 Bill Farrell Memorial medalist Nick Reenan twice via technical fall on May, at Final X: State College.[49] He then warmed up at the
Yasar Dogu of July, with four dominant pins over foreigners.[50]
At the
World Championships, Taylor had a tough start, as he faced his biggest threat of the tournament in the first round,
'16 Olympic Gold medalist and
defending World championHassan Yazdani from Iran. After being down two points to six at the end of the first period, Taylor was able to overcome adversity and put on nine points on his side, finishing the legendary match 11–6.[51] In the next round, he tech'd '18 Alexander Medved champion Hajy Rajabau from Belarus, to advance to the quarterfinals.[52] Next, he picked apart the accomplished Cuban
Yurieski Torreblanca, to pick up an 8–0 victory.[53] In the semifinals, he had it harder, as he went to the distance against the
'17 European Champion and Russia's best
Dauren Kurugliev, but was able to score the comeback win 7–5.[54] During the match, Taylor got briefly
knocked out after Kurugliev accidentally
wheel kicked him on the chin when escaping a single leg attempt by Taylor.[55] In the finals, he dismantled
Fatih Erdin from Turkey, overwhelming his opposition with 12 points to two, to claim the
World Championship and help Team USA reach third place.[56][57]
After the year was over, Taylor was named the
UWW International Freestyle wrestler of the Year,[58] and was awarded the
John Smith Award winner as USA's Freestyle wrestler of the Year.[59]
2019–2020
After time off competition, the returning World Champion came back in April 2019, when he claimed his second straight
Pan American title, tournament in where he scored 34 points to none against his four opponents and Team USA claimed all ten medals in freestyle.[60] On May, he competed at the annual Beat the Streets for charity, against Drew Foster, where he suffered a severe knee injury which led him to forfeit out of the match, and ultimately, forced him to stay inactive during the whole year, missing the opportunity to make his second US World Team (forfeiting it to
Pat Downey instead, whom he had tech'd twice), to represent the
United States at the 2019 Pan American Games or to defend his
title at the
World Championships.[61][62][63]
Taylor was unable to compete for a couple of months due to the
pandemic, but was scheduled to wrestle
Pat Downey (whom he was unable to wrestle at the '19 US World Trials) on July 25, at
FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo.[68] After Downey pulled out of the bout due to problems with the organization, Taylor wrestled and tech'd the accomplished
Myles Martin.[69] After more months of inactiveness, Taylor defeated two-time NCAA champion
Gabe Dean by points on November 24, at the
NLWC III.[70]
2021
To start the year, Taylor was scheduled to face his former rival and
five-time World and Olympic champion (at 74 kg)
Jordan Burroughs, at 86 kilos, on January 9, while headlining
FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Taylor.[71] However, it was announced on January 8 that Taylor was unable to travel to
Austin, Texas due to
COVID-19 restrictions and the bout was subsequently postponed for four days later and changed its location for
Lincoln, Nebraska, thus moving to a different card also named
FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Taylor.[72] After a 4–0 lead for Taylor in the first period, Burroughs rallied late to score four points of his own, but was unable to secure the victory as Taylor had criteria, defeating Burroughs for the first time in five matches.[73] Taylor was also scheduled to compete at the
Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane on January 16,[74] but was not able to travel due to the postponement of his match against
Burroughs.[75]
During April 2 to 3, Taylor competed at the rescheduled
US Olympic Team Trials as the heavy favorite and top–seed.[76] After cleaning out All–American Brett Pfarr in the quarterfinal round,[77] Taylor flawlessly knocked off reigning US National champion
Gabe Dean in a rematch from their match at the
NLWC III, advancing to the best–of–three finals.[78] In the finale, Taylor faced
reigning U23 World Champion and
Penn State legend
Bo Nickal, whom he is close with as a friend and teammate at the
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. He defeated Nickal twice and did not allow him to score any points while scoring ten combined points of his own, becoming the US Olympic Team Member at 86 kilograms, and qualifying him to represent the
United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[79] In regards to his close relationship with Nickal, Taylor then stated:
"It was a weird emotion," Taylor said. "We had a discussion leading up to it, and we have such a deep room in the
wrestling club, especially at 86 kilos, so we're challenged every single day and none of us would be where we are without each other. Bo's amazing, and I wouldn't be where I am without Bo."[80]
As a result, Taylor also competed at the
Pan American Continental Championships on May 30.[81] Taylor racked up 30 points against his three opponents while not getting scored on to claim the crown and help the USA reach all 10 freestyle medals.[82]
As an Olympic medalist, Taylor earned the right to automatically represent the United States at the
2021 World Championships without having to compete domestically to make the
US World Team, and did do so in October 2–3.[86] On the first date, Taylor once again ran through his competition, dominating the likes of World Championship runner-ups
Boris Makojev and
Abubakr Abakarov to cruise to the finale.[87] A fourth match with rival and
reigning World ChampionHassan Yazdani took place in the finals, but this time the Iranian came up on top for the first time, nullifying Taylor and snapping his 57-match win streak, marking the series 3–1 in favor of Taylor and the latter leaving with a silver medal.[4]
Repeating as Final X champion to become the US World Team member at the weight, Taylor defeated US National champion and
teammateAaron Brooks twice in a row in June.[90] At the
World Championships, Taylor dominated once again, defeating everyone on his way either by
fall or
technical fall, including
Hassan Yazdani, leading 5–1 in the series.[91]
In 2015, Taylor and Adidas released a line of wrestling apparel labeled "M2" after Taylor's college nickname "Magic Man".[95] Taylor received the nickname after a collegiate match in which he turned an unfavorable situation for himself into an advantage.[96] The apparel line began with wrestling shoes and has since expanded to clothing, posters and Adidas sponsored events.