PISCATAWAY, N.J. – A two-time NCAA qualifier and U23 World title winner during his time at Rutgers, Richie Lewis is one of the more recognizable names to come through the program since head coach Scott Goodale took over in 2007. Lewis muscled big-time victories for the Scarlet Knights, including a decision over No. 2 Alex Marinelli of Iowa at the 2018 Big Ten Championships.

While he enjoyed a successful collegiate wrestling career “On the Banks,” Lewis knew he wanted to explore other options once his time at RU was finished. Two years removed from his last wrestling match at the RAC, he is fully committed to a professional fighting career.

Lewis signed with a sports management team and though the COVID-19 pandemic has put dates around the sports world in flux, Lewis is set to make his professional debut this September. Lewis said he is looking to have between four and six professional bouts under his belt before he explores a jump to the UFC, and his focus is to improve from one day to the next.

“I’m training locally in South Amboy, but I’m also looking to travel a bit in order to get in the work that I need,” Lewis said. “Once everything dies down with what is happening in the world right now, I’ll be able to hit places like Arizona, or I can even hit New York if I want to strengthen my jiu-jitsu. I’ll be based out of Jersey, but I’ll be able to use the relationships I’ve built to train.”

If his wrestling career at Rutgers is any indication, fans should expect Lewis to excel in the cage.

After a standout two-year run at Iowa Central Junior College, Lewis wrestled his final two years of eligibility at Rutgers. Lewis went 49-13 during his tenure “On the Banks,” which included two trips to nationals and a bronze medal at the Big Ten Championships as a senior. During his final collegiate season, Lewis went 21-6, muscled wins over eight ranked foes and advanced to the Blood Round at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. 

Unsure of whether he wanted to wrestle of fight professionally after his time at Rutgers, Lewis packed up his car and went on a four-month road trip to figure things out. He hit training hot spots at Ohio State, the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and various clubs in California, which included the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. 

“I just went on a huge escapade to figure out what my next move was,” Lewis said. “By the time I got back, I realized that I wasn’t quite done wrestling. I came off a world title and had a heart-breaking loss in the Round of 12 at NCAAs that year, so I told myself I wasn’t done. I decided to head to Lehigh to train out the LVWC and that was my focus at the time.”

Lewis enjoyed success during his post-Rutgers wrestling career, which included a 74 kg freestyle title at the 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs, Colorado and a fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Team Trials in Raleigh, North Carolina. But fighting professionally remained in the back of his head, and he decided it was time to move on to the next chapter in his life.

“I just wanted to go full-force toward my MMA career,” Lewis said.

Depending on how things shake out, Lewis said he expects to begin training to weigh in at 145 or 155 pounds. Lewis wrestled at both 157 and 165 pounds for the Scarlet Knights, seeing a majority of his significant collegiate wins coming at the later weight. 

Collegiate wrestling standouts have traveled the same road Lewis is currently on, which includes former Rutgers assistant coach and UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Edgar was a standout wrestler at Clarion University from 2001-05, where he compiled a 120-55 record, was a four-time NCAA National Qualifier and notched the 11th most wins at the school.

Daniel Cormier (Oklahoma State), Randy Couture (Oklahoma State), Brock Lesner (Minnesota) and Greg Maynard (Michigan State) are some of the other standouts who have made the transition from fixtures on the NCAA podium to success in the octagon. They are also names Lewis can look to as individuals who accomplished shared goals.

“I want to be a UFC champion. Nothing less,” Lewis said. “That’s where I want to be and I’m able to say that with conviction because that’s what I wanted to do since I was 13 years old. Growing up watching Frankie Edgar and Chuck Liddell with my pops, I kind of always knew this was the route I wanted to go. My goal has always been to be a professional athlete and I always liked to fight growing up, so why not get paid for it?”

Lewis is well on his way to making his professional fighting dreams a reality and is grateful for everyone who has helped him along the way. That includes the Rutgers wrestling program, which he credits for helping to build his personal brand.

For now, Lewis will continue to train as he begins a new career path. The RU fan base will be behind him every step of the way, just like they were during highly-thrilling duals at the RAC.

“I don’t think I would be the high-level athlete that I am right now if I didn’t go to Rutgers,” Lewis said. “Rutgers is one of those big-time programs now that can help you jump start your career in whatever you choose to do. There are so many relationships with a lot of these guys already that in some ways it is part of the culture. I was able to get so much exposure because of how many fans are interested in our team, and the fact that there is a huge community invested in Rutgers wrestling really set me up for being successful once I left.”

Rutgers Wrestling is presented by Eat Clean Bro, an Official Partner of Rutgers Athletics.
 

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