If you have ever wrestled, you understand what 159-0 means on the COLLEGE level. It is close to impossible to remain UNDEFEATED for FOUR YEARS. The type of conditioning, weight training and technique that must be developed to do that is incredible.

I saw the thumbnail and thought there’s no way this old dude is about to win an Olympic medal

Ref USA wrestling, Sanderson's accomplishment of 159-0 has got to be the greatest of all time. And that is a HUGE statement. The fact he won Gold in Freestyle just verifies his greatness in USA Wrestling history. 17-0 Dolphins were a great team for 1 year. 159-0 was individual 4 year dominance.

if you have ever been a wrestler (collegiate or whatever) you have to just be in awe of him staying undefeated with 4 ncaa titles. that is such an amazing feat to accomplish it almost seems scripted or impossible. but to Cael Sanderson apparently it was not impossible. also what Kyle dake did winning 4 titles at 4 different weight classes each year moving up from 141 to 149 to 157 and finally 165 is nothing short of unbelievably amazing. wow.

I've trained under the tutelage of both Bobby Douglas and Cael, amongst many other incredible wrestlers/talent at Iowa States summer wrestling camp. One of the days, Cael did an exhibition bout vs every single student from heaviest to lightest, 1 by 1 (there was about 150 of us), and at the time I was in 6th or 7th grade weighing about 100 lbs max. By the time Cael got to me he was quite tired, and I actually got in on his legs with a solid double leg (shoulders in hips), but then he just threw me on my back like the 100 pounder I was, lmfao. Still, I got in deep on that son of a.... and I will remember that experience for the rest of my life. It was like playing Bobby Fischer or Gary Kasparov in chess and obtaining a winning, although brief, position. Regardless, Cael extended his 159-0 record to 309-0 that day (relatively speaking of course.)

159-0 and 4 NCAA titles is 10x more impressive then the '72 Dolphins. Honestly, I don't think it will happen again in my lifetime.

Sanderson's coach is no joke either. Bobby Douglas beat Dan Gable in a freestyle match.

Imagine that feeling!!! Being the best on the entire planet at something you love and take great pride in. Must be a priceless feeling.

This is kind of an untold comeback story right here. Sanderson was a phenom on Sportscenter during his collegiate run, and then he just kinda disappeared unless you were deep into wrestling. It's not unusual for a dominant collegiate athlete to lose their taste for the game at the international or professional levels, but Cael fought it off, outgrew it, found his love again just in time to cement himself as a gold medalist. What a legend.

Wow. The perfect wrestling career. Undefeated in college and then Olympic Gold. Doesn't get any better than that.

Talent is one thing. Hard work is another. But Cael Sanderson is proof that if you put those two together you can be a freaking beast!

wrestling is the toughest sport on the planet, it will test your heart and soul

did that announcer really try to put cael's career into perspective by comparing it with the 17-0 miami dolphins???? apparently to that guy 159-0 over 4 years is the same as 17-0 over 1 year

Moon was VERY defensive in that one. You could tell he was playing not to lose instead of going for the win. He obviously had a very high level of respect and fear of Cael's skills.

I love how he abandoned the collar tie far side ankle pick and went for the fake double ankle pick; he abandoned his main move because they were rdy for it and used a move that did not require him to touch the opponent to set up! Thanks for the upload!

159-0... A score like that is something a 5 year-old would claim as their win-loss.

And now Sanderson is the Head Coach of the best College Wrestling Team in the country. Success goes everywhere he goes.

That ankle pick is like watching Jordan’s mid range jumper!

Im just floored by how unstoppable Sandersons low singles are. Im watching and just cant tell if its speed or setup but the guy never seems to miss.

The story of bobby Douglass man is a legend among men!!! One of the best coaches of all time

Bobby Douglas is a legendary coach with real wrestling experience.

Watching this in 2023 and I can’t believe how weird the old scoring was! Those were bad days for wrestling lol

It's amazing to see how much freestyle wrestling has changed. I've never seen a match quite like this one ever before!

I’m crying!!! 17-0 vs 4 years undefeated 159-0 😂🤣

Some strange rules back then. Under today's rules, Cael would have tech'd him. Pushed him out about 5 times. Took him down twice and Moon did nothing but delay the entire match.

Dan Gable had only one blemish on his collegiate record, and he wrestled sick. His world's and Olympic runs are legendary, never giving up a point. Hell, he's a legendary superstar in Russia!

Cael Sanderson looks like Channing Tatum

In addition to his career on the mat, look at his body of work as a coach. The guy is unbelievable!

It must be exciting to have a legend like Bobby Douglas as a coach!😊

Yankees 27 WS titles, Bill Russell's 13 Championships, Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak, Tom Brady's 7 SB rings, Jordans titles and Bulls run from 91-98, these are all amazing and awe inspiring in their own right, but I'm not sure they or any other achievement in sports can compare to Cael's 159-0 record in NCAA wrestling. It's really mind boggling.

MAN, this is a GREAT sport! One of the first competitions we had as humans, was wrestling! I thank God for being able to be part of it years ago. I wasn't quite good enough to be recruited for college (unlike my brother Khalil😁👍🏾). Guys like Cael are ABSOLUTE legends; right up there with Gable, Kemp, Smith and Uetake. Awesome!😃❤🤼🏿‍♂️🤼‍♂️oops! I forgot about Dake..my fault!😳

Cael Sanderson the master of the ankle pick

I would have to say that the Dolphins record is far less impressive than this man's!

Bobby Douglas is the man!!!!!

Got to see him wrestle freestyle in Vegas when I was in high school. The GOAT.

Men's amateur freestyle wrestling, the last pure sport nothing better, the greatest athletes are here.

Freestyle had such stupid rules at that time.

8:55 perfect Sprawl

Awesome job and awesome to have Bobby Douglas as your coach. Tremendous memories and accomplishment.

Cael was by far one of the greatest collegiate athletes in all of sports.

Cael is amazing, I'm at psu wrestling camp, and he is one of my coaches and he is really cool

I’m really glad they implemented the push out point.

Sanderson had his hands full with this guy--but he did pull it off. Good sportsmanship, both men.

Caels high school coach is a huge part of his success.

This is what UKposts is for to make shit like this available at any time forever

Have never wrestled other than with my brothers. Have always been in awe of his accomplishments. He is “the man of the mat” Wrestlers are tough as nails!

To go undefeated in wrestling is next to impossible it shows how legendary he truly is. Your talking overcroming fatigue from wrestling a match earlier in the same day in some rare cases two. If any of you wrestled the fatigue you get is unreal. He would have to overcome impartial refs for the other guy. He is a legend and probably my top 3 favorite wrestlers ever to

Thank you for the video.

USA Legend need I say more.

@spyu-Cael coaching Penn State to a national championship last year is a start to better than winning a gold medal. Hopefully, one day he'll coach an Olympic champion.

That coach was awesome. Power of positivity. It is amazing what you can do with the support of someone who believes in you.

Goosebumps and watering eyes every time 💯💝

Named my kid after him 5 years ago. My 5 year old son has been wrestling for to years now and has been to 4 Ken Chertow camps and has went to Reno Worlds last year! I will be posting some videos soon!!

Moon has a gold medal in stalling.

Damn I'm getting old. I remember this match like it was yesterday.

great moment for both coach and wrestler.

Better comparison would be if the Dolphins went undefeated for four years.

This is one of the great american Sports Stories. Who knows what Cael could have done in MMA....

Some of the good old days I really dig the linkon&Brands era back in the 90’s I got to meet all the greats at the NCAAS had a floor pass the benefits of being a kid that was good wrestler and Kenny Monday signature to boot.

Cael did what Kyle Dake never could! He went UNDEFEATED 4 years AND won an Olympic GOLD medal!!

One tough dude!

John Smith was great too.

159 and 0...? Greatest of all time? How many matches did Alexander karelin win before his first of only two losses of 887 wins?

If I'd pick another to be in the same ball park as Cael it would be Kyle Drake. 4 ncaa championships at 4 different weight classes. (no redshirt year).. pretty amazing. His senior year he jumped up to 165 to challenge David Taylor. He's hasnt yet won the gold at the olympics and hopefully he can do that in a few years.

Sanderson - best collegiate wrestler ever Gable - best wrestler ever

"BREAK HIM, CAEL! BREAK HIM!" lolz

The relationship between Sanderson and Douglas is amazing to watch.

"I'm so good, I could out wrestle the moon." - Cael

That bodylock rule is really dumb. Glad they didn't have that when I wrestled.

Poise. This guy has a calm I haven't seen before. He must have a deep faith.

Undefeated at Iowa State over 4 years. Olympic Gold Medalist. And like Dan Gable and John Smith, Sanderson has become an excellent coach in building a powerhouse program at Penn State.

Those are Charlie Zelenoff-esque numbers

This comment thread reminds me of Coming to America where all the old barbers are arguing about Joe Louis.

Never gets old

Wow truly one of the greatest of all time maybe even the GOAT

1:20 "If you had to put Sanderson's collegiate career in perspective, think of the '72 Miami Dolphins going 17-0, a perfect season, nobody has done it since" NO NO NO!!! Imagine doing that 4 times!

ChanningTatum should do a movie about this cat

And now he's on his way to establishing himself as the greatest wrestling coach of all.

@Sthefano103 Rules were changed in 2005 to what they currently are now.

Comparing 159-0 to the 72 Dolphins is not even close to accurate.......... what he did was way more prestigious and difficult

Sanderson was 159-0. Can you imagine how the guy that wrestled him felt when he was 158-0 ?

in 9th grade got to meet Cael and Bruce Baumgartner at a wrestling clinique that was held here in ny, they were like giants back then

Jeff Blantnick was my old wrestling coach. It was cool hearing his voice again.

"Hi, I'm Cael Sanderson!" "Nice to meet you Cael!" "You too!" "So Cael what are you intereted in?" "Oh my dreams are to be undefeated in College and be a gold medalist with an ankle pick" "We'll see..."

I've heard whispers of people wondering why Cael never went into MMA. Think about it: Undefeated Collegiate career & a Gold Metal, under your Collegiate Coach, in a frickin' place called Athens. What more could a man not concerned with fame ask for?

Can't wait for the Jordan Burroughs Olympic Finals match!

Those were my favorite pair of wrestling shoes I ever had

Great martial artist, great win. Im glad he never went the MMA route. As much as I love MMA, its great to also have proper masters in their respective combat disciplines.... freestyle wrestling, muay thai, boxing, BJJ, etc. Look, I am glad that the best in their disciplines do compete in MMA in a ot of cases, but I personally do not think it is necessary for them or their legacies. To me there is something cool about Cael staying in wrestling. Now.... of course..... what will always be a juicy conversation is 'what if he did compete in MMA'..... dang.... who knows!!! hahaha

Getting your hand raised after a win in wrestling feels better than sex

@Moglanio9 yeah they're still around...they have a line of Cael Sandersons too

We all know cael sanderson is the man. Who we all looked up to in high school wrestling

Could have been UFC Champion!!

Cael, dang auto correct!

Both warriors. Damn. I will watch this until i die.

What wrestling is better folkstyle or freestyle, for me its folkstyle

When Coach Douglas tries to pick him up lol

So awesome

That'S hard work and dedication

I saw the thumbnail and thought Cael was gonna be wrestling an old black guy. Before you ask if I'm stupid, I'm stoned to the gills right now. And yes I'm also stupid.

It’s cool they had a black coach at a time like that