While it may be surprising to hear an accomplished wrestler and boxer confess to having no interest in watching MMA, Cassioppi’s intangibles make him just as intimidating as his tangible skillset.
At the tail end of Iowa’s dominant 34-6 victory over Nebraska, Cassioppi found himself in a position that most would find hard to find motivation. At 28-6 going into the final match, there’s literally nothing he could do to change the outcome of the dual, number three against an unranked Cale Davidson. Nobody would have blamed Cassioppi for doing just enough to secure the win. After going up 16-3 with less than a minute left in the third period, Cassioppi didn’t accept the easy W, he pushed through until he was able to score a pin with only 21 seconds left.
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Wherever Cassioppi finds himself in the future, he has the will to push himself to the end of the job, no matter how little impact it has in the long run.
Cassioppi is never going to take a practice off, phone in a match or ignore the task at hand. He’s got all the intangibles to be great at whatever he chooses to do, and with the weapons in his arsenal, he has what it takes to put fear in a lot of UFC heavyweights for years to come.
“I feel like the hard thing for wrestlers to pick up is the striking, and I already have a pretty solid base in striking,” Cassioppi said. “I already have that from being in boxing from nine to 18. I’m confident in my work ethic and my ability. I don’t think it would take long to be in the top ten. Obviously, you’ve got to work hard to prove that, but I think I’d do pretty well.”
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