Elite XC Veteran, Six-Time NCAA Wrestling Champ Carlton Haselrig Dead at 54
Carlton Haselrig, a former Pittsburgh Steeler who had a brief mixed martial arts tenure and a wildly successful NCAA wrestling career, died Wednesday at the age of 54.
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Haselrig won an unprecedented six national championships — three in Division II and three in Division I — for the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. The NCAA has since changed the rules that allow Division II and Division III champions the opportunity to compete for the Division I title, meaning that Haselrig’s feat will not be repeated.
Despite not having played football collegiately, he was drafted in
the 12th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989. He went on to
play five seasons in the NFL, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors
as a left guard in 1992.
Some 15 years after his retirement from pro football, Haselrig made his MMA debut at Battle Cage Xtreme 4 on April 19, 2008, when he scored a first-round TKO win over Shane Ott. His next appearance came at EliteXC “Primetime,” where he shared a card with the late Kimbo Slice and defeated Carlos Moreno via first-round corner stoppage.
“His athletic accomplishments were amazing — almost downright impossible to think about,” Pat Pecora, Haselrig’s wrestling coach at Pitt-Johnstown told the Tribune Democrat . “Carlton didn’t think it was that big of a deal. That was the funny part. To him, he wasn’t impressed with himself. He was so humble about his accomplishments.”
Haselrig ended his MMA career with a 3-2 mark. His last bout was a TKO defeat to former UFC talent Shawn Jordan in June 2009.
“Can you image what he could have done if he was in his 20s?” Pecora said. “He was doing MMA in his 40s, and he was winning.”
