Isaiah Martinez Is Tracking Ahead of David Taylor And Kyle Dake
Isaiah Martinez Is Tracking Ahead of David Taylor And Kyle Dake
Comparing Isaiah Martinez, David Taylor, and Kyle Dake at the beginning of their senior level careers shows just how impressive IMar's trajectory could be.
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Kyle Dake and David Taylor are two of the best pound for pound wrestlers on the planet. The two World champions are on incredible winning streaks and will be going for gold in Tokyo this summer. Believe it or not, Isaiah Martinez is off to a better start to his Senior-level freestyle career than both David Taylor and Kyle Dake. Before IMar attempts to defeat Burroughs for the second time in two years, check out a quick comparison between the beginning Senior-level careers of Dake, Taylor and Martinez.
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Senior Level Record
Isaiah Martinez has currently wrestled 50 matches on the Senior level. In those 50 matches, his record is 39-11 and he has recorded 19 techs and three pins in those wins. Through 50 matches on the Senior level, Martinez has a better record than both David Taylor and Kyle Dake did in their first 50. Also in those matches, Martinez has more bonus-point wins than Kyle Dake and more techs than David Taylor. Take a look below for a match breakdown between the three.
| First 50 Matches | Techs | Pins | Outscored Opponents | |
| Isaiah Martinez | 39-11 | 19 | 3 | 419-167 |
| David Taylor | 38-12 | 14 | 10 | 315-123 |
| Kyle Dake | 37-13 | 9 | 2 | 293-148 |
Isaiah Martinez's first senior level match from the 2017 Last Chance World Team Trails Qualifier:
First Trials Finals
Kyle Dake has made seven world team trials finals and David Taylor has made five. While Isaiah Martinez has only made two, it took Dake and Taylor more attempts to make their first World Team Trials finals.
Kyle Dake’s first attempted to make a Senior world team in 2011. He was only 20 years old and went 3-2 at the trials defeating J.P. O’Connor, Moza Fay, and Tyler Caldwell but losing to Kirk White and Nick Marable. Dake then attempted to make the Olympic Team the next year in 2012 but placed third - only suffering defeat to Trent Paulson. Kyle Dake finally broke through in 2013 when he defeated Trent Paulson, David Taylor and Andrew Howe before losing to Jordan Burroughs in two straight matches in the 74kg world team trials finals. At the time of the 2013 finals, Kyle Dake was 22 years old.
Similarly, David Taylor was unsuccessful in his first two tries at the world and Olympic Trials. Taylor first attempted in 2012 to make the Olympic team but lost to both Andrew Howe and Kyle Dake. He came up short again in 2013 after losing to Kyle Dake and placing third. Then, like Dake on his third attempt, David Taylor made the 2014 World Team Trials finals at 74kg but lost in two straight matches to Jordan Burroughs. At the time of the 2014 finals, David Taylor was 23 years old.
Isaiah Martinez first attempted to make a World Team in 2017 at the age of 22. At those trials, Martinez lost to Alex Dieringer and Kyle Dake to finish fourth on the ladder at 74kg. Then, just a year later in 2018, Isaiah Martinez made his first World Team Trials finals and wrestled against Jordan Burroughs in the 2018 Final X when he was 23 years old. Though he lost in two straight (like Dake and Taylor), he made the finals in one less attempt than Dake and Taylor and at a similar age.
First Win Over Jordan Burroughs
What may be the most impressive in this comparison is how young Isaiah Martinez was when he defeated Jordan Burroughs. It’s well known Burroughs had locked down the 74kg spot in the United States for nine straight years from 2011-2019. In that time frame, Kyle Dake, David Taylor, and Isaiah Martinez all failed to knock Burroughs off his throne. Now, all three hold a win over Burroughs, but Isaiah Martinez defeated Burroughs at the youngest age out of the three. When IMar defeated Burroughs in the second match at 2019 Final X, he was just 24 years old. That was two years younger than Dake and four years younger than when Taylor got his first win over Burroughs.
| Age at 1st win over Burroughs | Event | Attempt | |
| Isaiah Martinez | 24 Years Old | 2019 - Final X | 4th Attempt |
| David Taylor | 30 Years Old | 2021 - Burroughs vs Taylor | 5th Attempt |
| Kyle Dake | 26 Years Old | 2017 - World Team Trials | 4th Attempt |
Isaiah Martinez's win over Jordan Burroughs:
Obviously Isaiah Martinez has a long way to go in order to experience the same level of international success as David Taylor and Kyle Dake. One thing's for sure, Isaiah Martinez is off to a great start and should challenge the best in the country and world for years to come. He's already shown he has the ability to defeat Jordan Burroughs and, if he can do that, he can beat anyone in the world.