Master of the Form - The Catch Scouting Report on Curran Jacobs

(A playlist of the matches used for this scouting report can be found here.)

I have a little bit of a soft spot for Curran Jacobs as the most active pure catch wrestler in the tournament, and therefore the easiest to scout. The other tournament favorites, while accomplished wrestlers, have spent most or all of their competitive careers under different rulesets, which requires a certain amount of guesswork as to how their skills will transfer to a new format. It's similar to working out how a tournament karate fighter will transition to kickboxing, or a kickboxer to Muay Thai. Curran, though, is as much a catch native as anyone competing, which makes my (and probably his) job a little easier.

Curran's catch resume includes winning both of the Frank Gotch tournaments held in Humboldt, Iowa, in 2016 and 2017, most notably defeating MMA vet Travis Wuiff (twice) and Travis "Newaza" Warner, as well as a win over World tournament participant Christopher Crossan (Crossan's profile is coming Thursday) in a 2014 USA vs The World tournament. He's by far the most experienced and accomplished folkstyle wrestler in the field, as well, amassing a 76-39 record over his college career with Michigan State and twice qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Jacobs also holds a 3-0 amateur MMA record, with one knockout and one submission.



Standing up, Curran has a pretty traditional folkstyle attack. Against inferior wrestlers, he'll hit a quick double or single, or chain one to the other. When he's caught in clinches, he likes to snap down and go behind or hit a front headlock. Curran's an unexceptional handfighter, and can get tied up with two on ones.

On the mat, Curran's a pinner, not a hooker. He's got a double wristlock and toe hold he can finish with, but he's looking first and foremost to put his man on his back. To that end, he's adept at switching between rides, always committing to maintaining control rather than trying to maintain a position. He can generate good top pressure when he's trying to, but Curran prefers to remain mobile, probably because he's usually the smaller man and doesn't want to get caught and put on his back in a scramble. He's got an arsenal of Nelson variations to turn and pressure opponents with, and even breaks out a Gotch-style toehold turn once in a while.

Curran's big weakness is size. He'll probably be the smallest man in the tournament, and certainly the smallest of the four favorites. He routinely gives up from ten to sixty pounds in catch as catch can matches, so this will be nothing new for him, but getting caught under Barnett, Ruiz, or Lester could be disastrous. Technically, he showed a tendency early in his career to give up his arm for wristlocks in transition, but always managed to fight out, and it looks like he's tightened up his defense in this area in recent competition.

I fully expect Curran to reach the semifinals, and he's a live underdog to Josh Barnett. (He and Barnett have some old beef, which I assume influenced the bracketing.) If Curran can get a takedown, a trip to the finals is not out of the question, and if he makes it that far, anything can happen. Tournaments are chaotic by nature, with fluke injuries and unexpectedly long (or quick) matches affecting conditioning. Regardless of how far he makes it, Curran's active, aggressive style should make him a crowd favorite.

Tomorrow! A big man with a long resume, Nick Caggia just might stop Kenny Lester's run before it really gets going. (But probably not.) We'll go over how and why.

(For more on the 2018 Catch Wrestling World Tournament, including tournament scheduling and bracketing, see Snake Pit USA and Catch Wrestling U.)