Jeff Blatnick
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| Born | July 26, 1957 Niskayuna, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | October 24, 2012 (aged 55) Schenectady, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Greco-Roman, Freestyle, and Folkstyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Springfield College | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Adirondack Wrestling Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ronald Finley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jeffrey Carl "Jeff" Blatnick (July 26, 1957 – October 24, 2012) was an American super heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler and sports commentator. He won NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling championships in 1978 and 1979 and won the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1984 after battling back from cancer. During his wrestling days, he and Dan Severn were on the same U.S. National Wrestling Team.
As a commentator, Blatnick worked UFC 4 through UFC 32 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also served as the UFC commissioner and was instrumental in helping the UFC get regulated by the athletic commissions, which kept the sport of mixed martial arts alive during its Dark Ages in the United States at the time. Blatnick is among the people credited with giving the sport of mixed martial arts its name.
He served as an MMA judge for the New Jersey athletic commission.