The Mysterious Aura Of Roman Bravo-Young | UFC Fight Pass
Roman Bravo-Young Will Be Making His Grappling Debut June 29th At The FIGHT PASS Invitational.
He was one of the biggest names in collegiate wrestling without ever seeking out a microphone. He was one of the hottest stars in the game before he won his first NCAA title. He’s one of the most sought-after names in combat sports without having competed in most of them. He has more followers than almost anybody in the game without an abundance of posts.
What is Roman Bravo-Young doing so right?
NCAA wrestling is a sport that demands perfection. If you’re on top and you lose, you’re washed. If you’re on top and you narrowly win, you’re falling off or you’re hurt. There’s little wiggle room for the elite of the sport.
One person who managed to dodge all that his entire career was Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young.
“Even though I lost in the Finals this year, the amount of DMs and everything is just the same,” Bravo-Young explained. “Everyone is like, ‘what’s next?’ and ‘we want to see you wrestle.’ Some people are telling me that I just need to fight.”
Coming off a loss in his final NCAA wrestling match, he’s still being pulled in every different direction. Everybody wants to know the next move, and everybody wants to be a part of it in some way, shape or form.
Still Bravo-Young stays away from as many cameras and microphones as he can as his invincible stock continues to rise. While he may be uninterested in getting to the root of why he’s as popular as he is, he does have his theory.
“People are just drawn to the way that I am and the work that I put in,” Bravo-Young explains. “There aren’t many people that work harder than me, that is just a fact. I think people just see the work that I have put in and that I have started from the bottom, and it makes people want to see what I do next.”
Bravo-Young isn’t the first person in the sport to crack the code on NCAA fame; he just took a different route. There are plenty of names in the sport with a full trophy case and a loyal fanbase, but RBY has gotten this far without tactics like trash talking, dyed hair or hot takes on social media.
“Sometimes if you are talking big game, it can come back and bite you in the butt, so I just remain humble always,” Bravo-Young said. “It is just about respect - respect your opponents, respect everything – and, at the end of the day, don’t take it too seriously and the best man will win. It is just more so being grateful for an opportunity.”
Stepping in the grappling game until I can wrestle again. June 29th. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/Lwy0RoVcLN
— Roman Bravo-Young (@RomanBravoYoung) May 26, 2023
RBY remains adamant there will be no trash talking or “fight building” heading into the FIGHT PASS Invitational 4. Different outfit, same Bravo-Young. Across the board it’s agreed that the same thing that made the wrestling community fall in love with him will translate directly into his BJJ career, however long it should last.
Being the small fish for the first time in years is fine with the Nittany Lion. In fact, outside of leg locks, Bravo-Young only has one hope in mind for his upcoming match with UFC flyweight contender Alex Perez.
“All I am saying is I hope [Perez] wants to scramble a little bit and wrestle a little bit and make sure that we aren’t just pulling guard,” Bravo-Young said.
It all goes down June 29th.
Do not miss the submission grappling debut of Penn State legend Roman Bravo-Young at the FIGHT PASS Invitational 4, LIVE Thursday, June 29, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
