Jordan Burroughs vs Mitchell Mesenbrink controversy explained: Why the Olympic champion was booed at the US Wrestling Team Trials 

The Jordan Burroughs and Mitchell Mesenbrink match at the US Olympic Wrestling Team Trials was expected to be a thriller before it even began, and the actual showdown was Hollywood-worthy. A chippy fight from both ends led to a tense atmosphere, with Burroughs being booed out of the stadium after his 8-3 win over the PSU wrestler.

Going into the match at the Bryce Jordan Centre of the Pennsylvania State University, the 2012 Olympic champion was already performing in front of a hostile crowd. Before coming into the trials, Burroughs was involved in quite the social media face-off against Penn State's NCAA Champion Carter Starocci and Nittany Lion Bo Nickal.

For his opening round at the trials, the 35-year-old was up against PSU sophomore Alex Facundo, whom he managed to beat after a late resurgence in the second period.

Then came the fateful battle with PSU’s star wrestler, Mitchell Mesenbrink. Despite Mesenbrink having a home-ground advantage, he was very much the underdog going into the match. However, the youngster was keen to put up a fight, often resorting to shoving Burroughs’ head and back during the match.

Despite Mesenbrink’s best attempts, the six-time World Champion was running away with the match, leading 8-0 at one point. However, the moment that went viral came with around seven seconds to go in the second half.

The Nittany Lion had just earned his second point after a step-out, but seemingly missed the whistle and continued wrestling. To this, Jordan Burroughs reacted by shoving the youngster’s head into the mat.

The referees let Burroughs off with a warning, and he eventually took the win 8-3. However, the crowd was not impressed by the Olympic Champion’s actions, booing him as he walked off the mat.

Jordan Burroughs out of Olympic trials after losing to Jason Nolf

After this dramatic victory over Mitchell Mesenbrink, Jordan Burroughs faced another Nittany Lion in the finals of the Challenge Tournament.

The 35-year-old was faced with the challenge of Jason Nolf, a former Penn State University wrestler who has three NCAA and two back-to-back National Championships to his name. The match began with Nolf setting a punishing pace, managing a takedown in the last moments of the first half, only for it to be canceled on a challenge.

However, Nolf kept pushing, scoring a takedown in the second half and holding to clinch a 3-0 win by decision. With this loss, Jordan Burroughs’ storied career has come to a close, with the wrestler having announced that he would retire after the trials if he was unable to make it through to the Games.