When Chris Dempsey traveled to Saudi Arabia to compete in the World Combat Games, he was surprised at his experience.
“It was not what I expected,” Dempsey said.
“Saudi Arabia and Qatar were beautiful places. Everything was brand new, clean, and the people were really nice. Completely the opposite of what you mostly see in the news about what’s happening over there.”
Dempsey and his fellow competitors arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the competition, which was held from Oct. 20-30, just as the current conflict in the Middle East was ramping up.
“It was nerve racking,” Dempsey said. “The State Department started enforcing different travel bans. It was escalating before we went, and they almost pulled the trip on us the night before we left.”
Fortunately for the 36-year-old Dempsey, and competitors from all over the world, the games went on as scheduled and Dempsey brought home a bronze medal at 92 kg (202 pounds) in wrestling for the United States team.
In the quarterfinals, Dempsey beat Manuel Pilato of Italy by securing three technical points.
He lost to Mantas Daublys of Lithuania in the semifinals. Both scored three technical points, but Daublys advanced based on criteria.
“I was glad to come home with a medal, but I lost in the semifinals to the guy who finished second,” he said. “The guy who took first, I lost to him in Poland a couple of months ago in the same way I lost in these semifinals. I wish I could have come through and won a gold.”
Dempsey, who was born in Sewickley, enjoyed his time in Saudi Arabia and was surprised how popular wrestling is overseas. He compared the popularity to that of basketball or football here in America.
“It was cool to see all the people excited to see us come over,” he said. “If you go to those other countries like Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Russia, wrestling is, if not one of, the top sports, for the entire country. So those guys are treated like elite NFL players.”
Dempsey wrestled at both Ambridge and Pitt-Johnstown under legendary coach Pat Pecora and is appreciative of the clout wrestling has in Western Pennsylvania.
“We’re lucky here in Western Pennsylvania. We have a strong wrestling tradition, and we get a lot of extra attention. In a lot of the rest of the country, wrestling is kind of an afterthought,” he said.
After college, Dempsey moved back home and was approached by Isaac Greeley, who along with fellow NCAA All-American Chris Como, had just opened the Mat Factory in Lower Burrell.
“Isaac, Chris and I all wrestled at Pitt-Johnstown, although at different times,” Dempsey said. “Once Isaac knew I moved home, he told me they had an MMA program and to come train. It was a perfect fit.”
Greeley, a Pitt-Johnstown grad and two-time All-American wrestler and a national runner-up, is proud of all Dempsey has accomplished in his career.
“Chris fits the mold, coming from a blue-collar background, with a bit of city smarts from Ambridge. His hard work paid off for him over the years,” Greeley said. “He’s competed in some of the highest levels of MMA, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. To have Chris come out of the Mat Factory represents everything that Pittsburgh’s about.”
When he isn’t at competitions, Dempsey works as an outside salesman and regularly coaches at the Mat Factory.
“He’s one of our full-time coaches. He helps coach wrestling, jiu-jitsu and helps run our MMA program as well,” Greeley said.
Dempsey was active in MMA from 2012-21, had a few stints in UFC and compiled a record of 11-7. Today he is more focused on wrestling, grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“Took a few knockouts at the end of my career in MMA. I suffered some head injuries and decided it was better to compete in the grappling world, where I could compete for a lot longer at a higher level,” he said.
Dempsey has won multiple competitions in jiu-jitsu, including at the Pan American games in an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) competition in purple, brown and black belts. He also competed in the IBJJF World Championship in both purple and brown belts.
Dempsey has one more event before he takes a breather for the year. He will be in Tucson, Ariz., in December for a combat jiu-jitsu competition.
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“I’m really excited for that competition,” he said. “It’s a combat jiu-jitsu, which is jiu-jitsu, but you’re allowed to open-hand strike when you’re on the ground.”
Dempsey encourages anyone to give grappling or jiu-jitsu a try.
“It’s one of those sports that people don’t understand, but if they tried it for a week or so, they’ll fall in love with it,” he said.
Ted Sarneso is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.