As a wrestler, he became a three-time district champion, two-time regional champion, state (
NJSIAA) champion, and NHSCA national champion in his
senior year (2006).[3][11] He graduated with 115 wins and 20 losses.[12]
For his sophomore year in
college, he made adjustments with which he finished regular season with a 34–6 record. He also set a single-season record, scoring 98 dual
takedowns and surrendering just seven on the year, marking one of UNL's best sophomore seasons.[14] As the top-seed at the Big 12 Championships, Burroughs made his way to the title with
technical fall and
major decisions and was also named the
Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.[17] At the NCAAs, he capped three victories up until the semifinals, where he was downed by
Hawkeyes' legend
Brent Metcalf.[18] He placed third after defeating J.P. O'Connor and Josh Churella in his last matches of the season, claiming
All-American honors.[19]
2008–09
During his
junior year he won the Cliff Keen title (with wins over returning
AA O'Connor and defending NCAA champion Jordan Leen), where he was named the Outstanding Wrestler.[20] He also broke the school's single-season dual takedown record for the second straight year with 117 in 19 duals, only giving up one himself, to future
three-time Bellator MMA World ChampionMichael Chandler.[14] Burroughs then claimed his second Big 12 title with wins over
Oklahoma State's Neil Erisman and once again over
Chandler.[21] Entering as an undefeated (34–0) top-seed, he claimed his first
NCAA title by beating fellow undefeated (17–0) second-seed Mike Poeta in the finals.[22] He also defeated future
UFC fighterGregor Gillespie in the semifinals.[23]
2009–10
Burroughs was having a 7–0 regular season, including a single win at the Las Vegas Invitational against eventual
UFC Interim ChampionJustin Gaethje (he
forfeited the next matches due to an injury from the match),[24] before suffering a season-ending injury at a dual match against
Central Michigan's Steve Brown, where he dropped an overtime loss due to the injury.[25] This led to a
medical redshirt for the remainder of the year.
2010–11
Burroughs started his comeback
senior season strong with a Harold Nichols Classic and Midlands Championships with a win over returning NCAA champion Andrew Howe in the finals, receiving the
Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler award due to his performance in the tournament.[26] This capped a perfect 29–0 to finish the regular season.[14] At the Big 12 championships, he defeated second-ranked in the country Tyler Caldwell 2–1 to claim the championship.[27] At the NCAA tournament, he again defeated Caldwell in the finals to become a two-time national champion.[5] He was awarded the
Dan Hodge Trophy as the best collegiate wrestler in the country after an undefeated season.[28] He graduated with 128 wins and 20 losses overall, 13 of those coming in his first year.[29]
Freestyle career
2007
Burroughs made his senior-level debut at the US University Nationals on April, where he placed second to
Teyon Ware.[30]
2011
Just three weeks after graduating from college, Burroughs made an immediate jump into the
freestyle scene, competing at the US Open on April 7–10. He dismantled all of his four opponents (including
Nick Marable and
Bobby Nash) to claim the championship.[31]
On May 5, he defeated
Aniuar Geduev from Russia, at the annual Beat the Streets dual.[32] At the US World Team Trials of June 9–11, Burroughs defeated US University National Champion Andrew Howe twice in a row to become the
US World Team Member at 74 kilograms.[5] He then won the Ukrainian Memorial International tournament on July 23–24, winning every period of his five matches and coming out with a notable victory over
Musa Murtazaliev.[33]
Burroughs started off his legendary year by winning the Dave Schultz Memorial International on February 1–4, where he defeated the likes of Tyler Caldwell and Trent Paulson.[37] He travelled to
Cuba for the Cerro Pelado International on February 14–15, where he once again claimed the
gold medal, now with victories over
Nick Marable and Paulson.[38][39] On April 21, he claimed the US Olympic spot at 74 kilograms after downing Andrew Howe once, as he was forced to
forfeit the next match.[40]
Burroughs was selected to represent the United States at the World Cup on May 12–13. He collected notable wins for his resume after beating the likes of
Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov,
Sosuke Takatani,
Sadegh Goudarzi and
Davit Khutsishvili, to claim gold.[41] He also dominated Russia's Kamel Malikov at the annual Beat the Streets.[42]
At the
2012 Summer Olympics of London on August 10, Burroughs opened up with a dominant 4–0, 6–0 performance over
Francisco Soler from
Puerto Rico and followed up with a 2–1, 1–1 score over
Matt Gentry from Canada, to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, he took out two–time
World Champion and three-time European champion
Denis Tsargush from Russia, in a rough 3–1, 0–2, 2–1 to advance to the final, where he shut down the highly accomplished
Sadegh Goudarzi from Iran, 1–0, 1–0, to claim his
Olympic gold medal.[43][44][45]
On April 17–19, he came back to the national circuit to claim his second US Open title, defeating
Penn State legend
David Taylor in the process.[49] He then defeated Saba Khubezhty in two different duals, the first one at the Rumble on the Rails and the second one at Beat the Streets, on May 15 and 19 respectively.[50][51]
Burroughs made his second US World Team on June 21–23, when he defeated recent graduate and
four-time NCAA championKyle Dake twice, remaining un-scored (7–0) in the first match and going to overtime (8–6) in the second.[52] He then warmed up with a Stepan Sargsyan International title on August 3–4, compiling four more victories to his streak.[53]
Four weeks prior to the
World Championships, Burroughs broke his ankle,[54] however, he was once again victorious at the tournament, now in even more dominant fashion. He outscored his opposition 34–3, and recorded
technical falls in three of his five matches (including
Narsingh Yadav and
Jabrayil Hasanov), the two remaining being a disqualification win against
Ali Shabanau and a 4–0 match in the finale against
Ezzatollah Akbari, to crown himself as a two-time
World Champion.[55][56]
In 2014, Burroughs received the 2013
John Smith Award as
USA Wrestling's Freestyle Wrestler of the Year.[57]
2014
Burroughs travelled to Turkey to compete at the
Yasar Dogu on February 15–16, where he won over
Rashid Kurbanov (6–0) and
Pürevjavyn Önörbat (TF 10–0) before his legendary 70-match win streak and undefeated 70–0 record since crossing over to
freestyle full-time were broken by
Nick Marable, in a 4–4 loss.[58][59] He went on to claim the
bronze medal.[60]
Despite his streak being snapped, Burroughs continued to dominate his opposition, next representing the United States at the
World Cup on March 15–16, where he got two
falls (one over
Parveen Rana), two tech falls and one 7–1 decision over
Ezzatollah Akbari, helping the United States reach third-place and claiming his second individual
World Cup.[61] He also claimed his third US Open title on April 15–19, after defeating two-time
Dan Hodge Trophy winner
David Taylor in an exciting finale.[62] Before the US WTT, Burroughs
pinned Russia's Atsamaz Sanakoev on May 7 at Beat the Streets.[63]
At the US World Team Trials of May 31–June 1, Burroughs defeated
Taylor for the third and fourth times in his senior career to secure the spot, the first a fairly dominant performance by the Olympic gold medalist (6–2) and the second as close as the US Open's match between the two (6–5).[64] To warm up, Burroughs competed in
Mexico City and claimed a Pan American title on July 15–17, while defeating the accomplished
Liván López from
Cuba in the finals.[65][66]
At the
World Championships of September 8–14, Burroughs advanced to the semifinals without much problem, beating four-time
African ChampionAugusto Midana (spraining his
MCL throughout the match) and
Rashid Kurbanov, who would go on to win the
Asian Games Gold medal 20 days later. Despite initial success in the tournament, he was unable to secure his fourth consecutive World/Olympic title, as he was downed by
Denis Tsargush 2–9, but captured the
bronze medal by pinning Rustam Dudaiev from
Ukraine.[67] The loss to Tsargush marked the first time he had been defeated by an international wrestler in over 60 international matches.[68]
Burroughs then competed on April 11–12 at the
15' World Cup. He powered through Cuba's
Liván López, Russia's Iakubali Shikhdzhamalov,
Mongolia's
Pürevjavyn Önörbat and
Iran's Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh to claim his fourth straight
World Cup.[70] He also downed Luis Quintana in his fifth-consecutive appearance at Beat the Streets, now on May 12.[71] At the US World Team Trials of June 12–14, Burroughs defeated the challenger
Kyle Dake twice, winning by decision in the first match (6–3) and dismantling the later 15' US National champion with a
technical fall (14–4).[72] To warm up, Burroughs won his second
Pan American Games title on July 18, defeating
Liván López (for the third time in his career),
Jevon Balfour and Yoan Blanco.[73]
At the
World Championships of September 12, Burroughs had a tough six-match run, being dominant on his way to the semifinals (scores of 5–2, TF 10–0, TF 11–0, 5–0) before bumping into
European Games championAniuar Geduev, whom he was able to defeat in a close 4–3 match. At the finals, Burroughs outclassed his opponent
Pürevjavyn Önörbat with a
technical fall to help the United States place second at the tournament.[74]
2016
To start off the
Olympic year, Burroughs won his second
Yasar Dogu gold medal February 4–6, racking up notable wins over
Soner Demirtaş and
Zelimkhan Khadjiev.[75] He also won his second Pan American title on February 26–28, with dominant performances at the tournament.[76] At the
2016 US Olympic Team Trials of April 10, Burroughs dismantled 12' opponent Andrew Howe with a 9–3 in the first match and a technical fall in the second to make his second
Olympic Team.[77] He also competed at Beat the Streets for the sixth time, now on May 19 against
15' Asian Champion Peyman Yarahmadi, whom he almost tech'd with an 11–2 score.[78]
Burroughs was then expected to compete at the
World Cup on June 11–12, however, he chose to withdraw from the tournament as the birth of his second child was coming up.[79] Burroughs won his last tournament before the
Summer Olympics at the Germany Grand Prix, on July 2, soundly defeating
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov and
Martin Obst.[80]
On August 19, Burroughs competed at the
2016 Summer Olympics, entering the tournament as a heavy-favorite to win his second gold medal.[81] After an 8–3 win in the Round of 16 against eight-time
African Championships medalist
Augusto Midana,[82] he wrestled
Aniuar Geduev (whom he was 2–0 against) in the quarterfinals. After a match full of emotions, Burroughs was violently
upset with a close 2–3 loss, which stunned the United States and sent him to the consolation bracket.[83] At the consolation semifinals, Burroughs was defeated in an impressive fashion, as
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (whom he had comfortably beaten a month prior) was able to pick up the win by technical fall over the American.[84] After being sent home, an emotional Burroughs with tears on his eyes, stated:
"I left my wife at home with two kids in Nebraska for long periods of time to go to training camps and tournaments in foreign countries, but she did that joyfully, not begrudgingly, because she knew on days like these I always performed. Now I feel like I let her down and I let my family down."[85]
2017
After a long lay-off, Burroughs came back to the scene at the
World Cup on February 16–17, where he was able to put his name back on notice once with four victories over foreigner opponents.[86] He then went back to the National scene, as he competed at the US Open on April 26–29.[87] At the tournament, he outscored his opponents 32 points to 2 up until the finals, where he was able to edge long-time rival
Kyle Dake with a 2–2 criteria win to claim his fourth US Open title.[88][89] On May 17, he defeated
Sosuke Takatani at Beat the Streets.[90]
Burroughs then faced his US Open opponent
Kyle Dake at the US World Team Trials on June 9–10. He lost the first match of the
best-of-three via criteria, 6–6, but was able to conquer the spot in the two following bouts with convincing decisions, 8–4 and 6–2.[91][92] He travelled to
Madrid to compete at the Spain Grand Prix on July 15–16, where he picked up four victories and notable ones over
Taimuraz Friev and
Jevon Balfour, winning all of his matches with the same score, 10–0.[93]
At the
World Championships of August 26, Burroughs had a tough challenge in the first round, despite defeating the two-time
World Championship bronze medalist
Ali Shabanau with a close score of 7–5. He then advanced to the second round and quarterfinals, where he tech'd his opposition, downing his BTS opponent
Sosuke Takatani with a score of 12–2 and
Zelimkhan Khadjiev with a score of 13–2, respectively. He then proclaimed redemption at
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov, whom he was tech'd by at the
Olympics, with a score of 6–5 to pass on to the finale. At the finals, he faced
Russian National ChampionKhetag Tsabolov and was able to beat him 9–6 to reclaim his throne at
74 kilograms .[94][95]
After his World Championship run, Burroughs was named a Comeback Wrestler of the Year by
United World Wrestling on December 27.[96]
2018
Burroughs started off the year strong by winning his sixth
World Cup on April 7–8 at
Iowa City, Iowa, bumping up his record at such tournament to 27–0 and clinching the team title for
Team USA.[97] He then faced
Frank Chamizo for the first time, going to a close and exciting
come-from-behind 6–5 decision win,[98] giving birth to one of the best rivalries in recent
wrestling history.[99]
He then made his eight World or Olympic team on June 8–9, at the '18 Final X: Lincoln,[100] where he was the crowd-favorite as
Lincoln, Nebraska is the city where he attended
college.[101] He did so by defeating US Open champion and
NCAA legend
Isaiah Martinez, with a 4–1 score in the first match and a case-closing 11–1 technical fall in the second.[102] Burroughs took a trip to
Istanbul, Turkey to compete at the
Yasar Dogu tournament on July 27–29, where he made the finale comfortably, to face
Frank Chamizo.[103] In a high-scoring match packed with action, Burroughs found himself defeated by the Italian via criteria, 10–10 to make the series a tie and claim his first silver medal in his entire freestyle career since crossing over.[104]
At the
World Championships of October 20–21, he defeated
Mostafa Hosseinkhani from Iran in the opening round, 4–3, but suffered an
upset in the quarterfinals to two-time and
reigning Russian National champion and eventual winner of the championship
Zaurbek Sidakov in a close 5–6 loss.[105] However, he came back in the consolation semis, where he defeated
Miroslav Kirov from
Belarus by a 9–0 decision. At the bronze medal match, he faced
Frank Chamizo and was able to break the tie with a 4–4 criteria win to claim the third-place, therefore his sixth medal from
Worlds.[106]
2019
Burroughs started off his athletic year in
Bulgaria, at the Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov Memorial of February 28 to March 3. In this tournament, he beat
Frank Chamizo once again with a convincing 9–2 win[107] and also got a notable victory over
Bekzod Abdurakhmonov to claim the championship.[108] On April 19–21 Burroughs competed at his first
Pan American Championships since 2016, and was able to claim his third title with notable victories over
Franklin Gómez and
Jevon Balfour.[109]
On May 6, Burroughs competed at Beat the Streets against
UFC undefeated star and former
Dan Hodge Trophy winner
Ben Askren.[110] He was able to outclass the long-time retired wrestler via 11–0 technical fall.[111][112] On June 14–15, Burroughs made his seventh US World Team by claiming the spot at
19' Final X: Lincoln. Just like last year, he faced
Isaiah Martinez,
World Cup champion and two-time US Open champion, who pushed Burroughs to a closer series to last year's. In the first match, Burroughs won a close 5–4 decision, but was defeated via criteria in the second match (5–5) and was forced to come back with a dominant 7–1 to claim the series.[113]
At the
World Championships of September 20–21, Burroughs started off with two close victories, coming from behind in both of them and winning 11–10 and 6–4 respectively. He then picked up a solid win to make his way into the semifinals, where he was once again stopped by
Zaurbek Sidakov by one point scored in the last second in a 3–4 match, forcing him to compete for the bronze medal.[117] In the third-place match, he was able to defeat Mao Okui with a dominant 10–0 technical fall.[118]
After months of not being able to compete due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Burroughs wrestled two-time NCAA champion and '19 US National Champion at 86 kilos
Zahid Valencia, at a catchweight of 185 pounds in the headline of
FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Valencia, on November 14.[122] At the weigh-ins, Burroughs weighed 178.2 pounds, while Valencia marked 184.1 pounds on the scale.[123] After being topped 0–4 in the first period, Burroughs overcame Valencia and took the lead, outscoring him 8–1 in the second period to mark the final score 8-5 and claim the dual.[124]
2021
After downing the number two-ranked 86 kilogram'er in the country, Burroughs had been booked to wrestle former rival and
'18 World ChampionDavid Taylor at 86 kilos, while headlining
FloWrestling: Burroughs vs. Taylor, which would take place on January 9.[125] 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.[126] After a 0-4 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.[127]
In April 3, Burroughs competed at the rescheduled
US Olympic Team Trials in an attempt to make his tenth straight US World/Olympic Team. Able to sit out as a
2019 World Championship medalist, Burroughs faced
reigning and
two–time World Champion at 79kg and former rival
Kyle Dake in a best–of–three final.[131] Both matches were similar and had the same result, with Dake coming out on top after seemingly shutting down the Olympic champion with the scores of 2–3 and 0–3.[132] This marked the first time Burroughs was unable to make the US Olympic or World Team, ending a dominant nine–year long reign.[133]
Burroughs had been set to wrestle former rival
Isaiah Martinez on June 18 at Who's Number One,[134] but on June 14, Martinez announced he would not be able to make the weight of 79 kilograms and the bout was cancelled.[135]
After initial manifestation of moving up to 79 kilograms in April, Burroughs registered to bulk up and compete at the
2021 US World Team Trials on September 11–12 as the top-seed, intending to represent the country at the
World Championships for the eight time.[136] Burroughs showed immense longevity in his career while displaying his signature double leg throughout the tournament, dropping All-Americans Hayden Hidlay and Chance Marsteller as well as three-time NCAA champion
Jason Nolf, advancing to the finals.[137] In a best-of-three series, Burroughs downed another three-time NCAA champion in
Alex Dieringer twice in a row in frenetic bouts, getting back on the top of the podium for the first time since March 2020.[138] During his second match with Dieringer, Burroughs suffered a torn calf muscle, and he was told by the doctors that he would need eight weeks to recover, but still represented the United States at the
2021 World Championships from October 3 to 4 in
Oslo, Norway, less than a month later.[139][140]
To make his first World Championship final since
2017, Burroughs won four matches during the first date, including a close bout with two-time U23 European champion
Radik Valiev.[141] He topped
Mohammad Nokhodi from Iran in the finals in order to capture the gold at the new weight class and become a
five-time World Champion, cementing his legacy as one of the most accomplished American wrestlers of all time.[142]
2022
After defeating Nestor Taffur at Bout at the Ballpark in February 12,[143] Burroughs competed at the prestigious
Yasar Dogu International on February 27, claiming the gold medal.[144] On May 8, he swept the competition at the
Pan American Championships to add a fifth title to his name.[145] In June, he defeated two-time All-American Chance Marsteller at Final X: New York in a best-of-three, two matches to one to earn a trip to the
World Championships.[146]
In December, he competed at the
World Cup, where after wins over Mongolia and Georgia, he was defeated by Iran's Ali Savadkouhi, marking the first time he had been defeated by an Iranian opponent in 16 bouts.[148]
2023
To start off May, Burroughs grabbed his sixth
Pan American title with a win over
Jasmit Phulka in the finals.[149] In June, he was defeated by Chance Marsteller at Final X: New York in a best-of-three, two matches to one, being denied his first US World Team since 2011.[150]
In November, Burroughs made the move back down to 74 kilograms, and claimed the D.A. Kunaev International title with four dominant wins.[151]
2024
In March, Burroughs made his first appearance of the year and swept the
Yasar Dogu International field with four wins over foreign opponents to claim the gold medal.[152]
Burroughs is a
Christian. He has spoken about his faith saying, "A gold medal is always going to leave you empty. ... There's no other thing in life that's more fulfilling than a relationship with
Jesus Christ. Contentment is one of the biggest things I've learned, knowing that regardless of where you are in life, it's all about being content with God's provision."[155] Jordan is married to Lauren Burroughs (née Mariacher) and has four children, Beacon, Ora, Rise, and Banner.[156][157] Burroughs is a
football fan and supports the
Buffalo Bills.[158]
Burroughs has cross-trained with several high-profile figures from the
MMA community over the years and has often been linked with making a move to the sport, but publicly explained on an episode of the
Joe Rogan Experience that he had decided against doing so on account of his wife, Lauren, and a general concern for maintaining his health.[159]