Billy MurphyIn high school, Murphy went 168-3, won two California state titles, and an NHSCA Nationals title. During the recruiting process, Murphy fell in love with Tom Brands and the style of wrestling he preached. Murphy originally committed to Virginia Tech when Brands was there. But in the spring of Murphy's senior year, Brands was hired to take over at Iowa, so Murphy chose to be a Hawkeye.
"Once Tom came out to my house and I met him, I canceled all my other visits," said Murphy. "I was convinced I wanted to wrestle for him."
As a redshirt at Iowa, Murphy went a perfect 15-0. But academic and financial hardships forced him to leave the school and wrestling program during the spring semester of his first year in Iowa City.
After Murphy left the Iowa program, he began working and competing in local mixed martial arts (MMA) events in Iowa, before making the decision to enroll at Iowa Central Community College during the spring semester in 2008. He focused on his schoolwork and practiced with the team his first year at Iowa Central.
Billy Murphy dominated the 133-pound weight class at the 2009 NJCAA Championships and won the Outstanding Wrestler award (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)This past season, Murphy stepped into the lineup at Iowa Central and looked like a man among boys competing at the NJCAA level. The only blemish on his record was a close loss to Division I All-American Daniel Dennis of Iowa. At the 2009 NJCAA Championships, Murphy won by pin or technical fall in every one of his matches and picked up the Most Outstanding Wrestler award in the process. He was one of five NJCAA champions for Iowa Central, who won the NJCAA team title for the fourth consecutive season and broke the all-time NJCAA tournament scoring record.
"It was kind of the same as it was my junior and senior years of high school," said Murphy, who went 107-0 in his final two years of high school. "I don't want to say it was getting boring, but it was getting pretty slow as far as having good competition. But I think the guys around me, the wrestlers and coaches, made it a lot more enjoyable. We had a good practice room. It was real hard, real tough. But at the same time, we were pretty laid back. We knew what we had to do. We had a lot of confidence as team. I had a good experience at Iowa Central. The coaches really looked after me and helped me out."
In high school, Billy Murphy went 168-3, won two California state titles, and was an NHSCA Nationals champion (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)"I've been struggling for the last two years," said Murphy. "Being out of my element, I think, is the way to put it. I wasn't too motivated as far as academics and going to class. I could never put my finger on it. But I was just out of my element."
Not only was Murphy struggling academically and financially, but aside from his coaches at Iowa Central, he didn't know who trust.
"It was frustrating in the sense that I was getting told so many different things about what I needed to do," said Murphy. "After a while, I started figuring out that I was just being told what I wanted to hear. I started talking to other people and they would tell me that these classes weren't transferrable. I was basically getting used. I think it was honestly because they didn't think I was going to succeed anyway and they just needed me then and there. But I mean, that's neither here nor there. I don't really care. I'm responsible for myself."
Shortly after Murphy won the NJCAA title, he pretty much gave up on school and came to the realization that transferring to another college was not in the cards.
"I think once I came into my own and realized I wasn't motivated and school is not for me at this point, I had to make that choice about what I needed most," said Murphy. "I don't have anything financially. I wasn't going to get enough at any Division I school due to my grades. Once I put it all together, it was kind of sad that I had to leave."
Murphy has done some MMA fighting on the side since 2007. He has fought at small, local venues in Iowa, compiling a 5-0 record with three knockouts and two unanimous decisions. However, because his focus has been primarily on wrestling, Murphy's MMA training has been almost nonexistent. He has rolled around with Iowa Central assistant coach Troy Bennett a few times. But that's pretty much the extent of his MMA training.
Billy Murphy was one of five NJCAA champions for Iowa Central this past season (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)"Joe put in a good word to his manager for me," said Murphy, whose MMA nickname is Mighty Mouse. "He said, 'Come on out. We're inviting you.' Joe and I are going to live in an apartment in Santa, Rosa, California. So I'm going to start training and go from there."
Murphy's short-term MMA goal is simple: Get in shape and improve in all aspects of MMA. He admits that he's mostly just a wrestler competing in MMA at this point. Murphy's long-term goal is to be the WEC champion at 135 pounds.
Even though MMA is Murphy's focus now, he's not ready to give up on his wrestling career. He admits that he loves freestyle wrestling and still has goals he wants to accomplish in wrestling, like making the U.S. Olympic team in 2012.
But for now, it's strictly MMA.
"I have to be completely dedicated to fighting," said Murphy. "I want to get to the top."
To read a November 2008 profile story on Billy Murphy for InterMat, click HERE.
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