MindJitsu Mindset: When Underdogs Topple Goliath

David vs. Goliath. A hair-raising, Dramatic Finish. When I used to work with UFC president Dana White, he’d get really excited about an idea or a story and hold up his arm to show you, “Dude, I’m getting f—- goose bumps!” 

Watching this match literally gave me goosebumps.

Gotta love this kid, Austin Desanto, and his mindset. How he wears his heart on his sleeve. The risking. The daring.

Desanto got smashed 15-0 a year ago by Spencer Lee, a high school wrestling legend who entered this match a perfect 144-0, and a world champion at the cadet and junior level who will wrestle for the famed University of Iowa Hawkeye wrestling program later this year. One thing this match teaches us: Austin Desanto placed a serious bullseye on Lee’s back. He ran toward the challenge. He believed. He obsessed.

No slouch himself, Desanto entered the contest 52-0 on the year but was still an underdog vs. an all-time great who had never lost.

Desanto clearly never bought into the hype, never put Lee on a pedestal, and wrestles like someone who has visualized this moment hundreds of times in his head. In fact, the home-schooled DeSanto is the aggressor throughout and takes it to Lee, who was gunning for his fourth Pennsylvania high school state title.

One other note: Several reports indicate that Lee was competing on a bum right knee — with some reports (FloWrestling and PaPowerWrestling.com) claiming he has competed since late January with a torn ACL. So kudos to Lee for being so game and determined on an injured knee in pursuit of his fourth straight PA title.

This video was approaching 1 million views and for good reason: It’s an epic, down-to-the-wire battle that many are comparing to a high school version of Dan Gable vs. Larry Owings in the 1970 NCAA finals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNRBNxrEhyM