Mark Perry Jr
Founder, Wrestling Coach
Mark A. Perry Jr. is a two-time NCAA Champion, Dan Gable Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the most accomplished wrestling and MMA coaches in the world. Wrestling runs in his blood — he is the son of Mark and Cathy Perry, older brother of two-time NCAA Champion Chris Perry of Oklahoma State, and the nephew of John W. Smith, widely regarded as the greatest American freestyle wrestler of all time: a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion. For Mark Perry Jr., elite competition was never a distant dream — it was the family standard.
Named the 2003 Junior Hodge Trophy winner as the nation's top pound-for-pound high school wrestler, he wrestled for the legendary Blair Academy High School located in Blairstown, New Jersey. During his time competing for the Buccaneers, he was part of three national championship teams that are considered to be some of America's greatest high school teams of all time. Mark went on to compete for the University of Iowa where he became a four-time NCAA All-American, four-time Big Ten Championship finalist, and served as team captain for the Hawkeyes from 2005 to 2008 — earning the 2005 AWN NCAA Division I Rookie of the Year award in his first collegiate season before closing out his Hawkeye career with two individual titles and a NCAA Division I Team Championship his senior year.
Over a 15-year coaching career, Mark has worked alongside and developed athletes at the highest levels of collegiate, international, and combat sports competition. During his full-time coaching career in the NCAA and international Olympic wrestling programs, he worked with over a dozen NCAA finalists and crossed paths with several NCAA Champions including Frank Molinaro, Quentin Wright, Jesse Delgado, and Isaiah Martinez, Spencer Lee, and Richie Figurioa, alongside dozens of other Division I All-Americans.
Mark served as the Head Coach of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club from 2017 to 2024, highlighted by being part of USA Wrestling Men's Freestyle Team World Championship Gold in both 2017 and 2023. During that span he worked alongside Thomas Gilman, Zahid Valencia, Stevan Micic, Nick Suriano, Cory Clark, Vincenzo Joseph, Kennedy Blades, Helen Maroulis, Kayla Miracle, Forrest Molinari, Dom Parish, and many other elite world-class athletes on the Olympic and World stage.
On the MMA scene, Mark also coached former UFC Champion Yair Rodriguez and continues to work with top prospect Forrest Molinari, along with other elite prospects as they pursues world titles in Mixed Martial Arts.
The MMA Network is the culmination of Mark's life's work — a non-profit built on a legacy of championship-level excellence, dedicated to giving elite combat sports athletes the financial support, mentorship, and infrastructure they need to become World Champions and beyond, in and out of the octagon.
Instagram: @markperryjr10 @visionaryhavens
Phone: (602) 910-0299
Email: thebearcavemma@gmail.com
