Cox was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri and began wrestling at the age of four. The first youth state tournament Cox entered is the last state tournament at any level he did not win. Cox began training with Mike Eierman (Jaydin Eierman's father) in 2006 and continued training with Eierman until his move to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2018.[4]
Cox attended Hickman High School, where he was an all–state linebacker in addition to a standout high school wrestler.[5] He was a four–time Missouri state champion, and one of the first wrestlers in Missouri to win titles at four different weight classes.[5] Cox compiled a 205–3 record in his high school career, suffering all three losses his freshman season.[5]
Cox also had success on the national level. In 2011 he won a Cadet National Championship in Greco-Roman, and took third place in freestyle.[6] A rivalry developed between Cox and fellow future multiple-time World Champion Kyle Snyder. Cox defeated Snyder in the Greco-Roman final while losing to Snyder in pool competition in freestyle. In 2012, Cox won a Junior National Championship in freestyle and took third in Greco-Roman.[6] Again Cox and Snyder traded victories between styles, with Cox defeating Snyder in pool competition in freestyle and Snyder defeating Cox in Greco-Roman pool competition.
Cox was ranked the third-overall recruit in the 2013 class by FloWrestling[6] and sixth overall by InterMat.[7]
College career
Cox stayed at home in Columbia and wrestled collegiately for the Missouri Tigers. Cox bypassed a redshirt year and wrestled right away for the Tigers at 197 lbs. in the 2013–14 season. He was a MAC champion and entered the 2014 NCAA Championships as the #2 seed. Cox defeated Nick Heflin of Ohio State in final to become a national champion. At the time Cox became just the 14th true freshman national champion in NCAA Division 1 history.[8] Cox finished the season with a 38–2 record and was recognized as both the 2014 MAC Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year.[5]
In his sophomore season, Cox again took home All-American honors by virtue of his 5th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Cox entered the tournament undefeated on the season and earned the #1 seed in the 197 lb. bracket. Cox suffered his first loss of the year in the semifinal to Kyle Snyder and suffered another loss to Morgan McIntosh in consolations before finishing 5th. He was a MAC champion again and finished the year with a 37–2 record.[5]
Cox returned to the top of the podium in 2016. After becoming a MAC champion for the third time, he entered the NCAA Championships as the #2 seed. Cox defeated Morgan McIntosh in the final 4–2, avenging his loss from the previous year. He joined Ben Askren as the only other two-time national champion in school history. Cox finished the season with a 33–1 record and was recognized as the MAC Wrestler of the Year for the second time.[5]
In 2017, Cox finished off his collegiate career with another national championship. He was a perfect 28–0 on the season and finished second in Hodge Trophy voting.[9] Cox was a MAC champion for the fourth time and was honored as the MAC Wrestler of the Year for the third time.[5]
Cox was the first three-time national champion in program history. Among program records, he finished his career ranked first in winning percentage (.965, 136–5) and tied for second in wins (136).[5]
Freestyle career
2014–2015
Cox was an accomplished freestyle wrestler growing up, claiming multiple US National Championships, despite never competing overseas.[6] In 2014, the newly crowned freshman NCAA champion at 197 pounds, decided to compete at 97 kilograms (214 pounds) despite being undersized for the weight class, and made his senior level debut by placing third at the US University National Championships, and later in the month competing at the US World Team Trials, but failing to place.[10][11] In 2015, he placed fourth at the US Senior Nationals, falling to eventual 2015 World ChampionKyle Snyder by one point throughout the bracket.[12]
After collegiate graduation, the three–time NCAA champion went on to defend his US World Team spot against reigning US National champion and eventual '18 World ChampionDavid Taylor at the 2017 US World Team Trials in June.[23] After losing the first match, Cox rallied to defeat Taylor twice in a row despite a knee injury to retain the spot, although controversially due to his excessive sweat and alleged passivity.[24] At the 2017 World Championships, he most notably went on to defeat '12 Junior World Championship runner–up Ahmed Dudarov and Dan Kolov International champion Zbigniew Baranowski before losing to Boris Makojev, coming back and defeating 2010 World ChampionMihail Ganev for bronze.[25][26]
2018–2019
Cox made his return by moving up to 92 kilograms in February 2018, claiming a silver medal from the Ukrainian Open after losing to World and Olympic championSharif Sharifov in the finale.[27] He then went 1–2 at the World Cup, helping Team USA reach the team championship for the first time in 15 years.[28] Cox then went on to claim the US National Championship and retain the US World Team spot at Final X.[29][30] Before the World Championships, Cox went 0–1 at the Yasar Dogu.[31]
The returning World Champion, Cox claimed his first Pan American Continental Championship in his first tournament of the year, helping the US reach gold in all of the 10 freestyle categories in the competition.[33] Cox then went on to defend his US World Team spot once again, headlining Final X Rutgers, where he shut down reigning US National champion, recently graduated three–time NCAA champion and Dan Hodge Trophy winner Bo Nickal twice in a row.[34] He then swept past the prestigious Yasar Dogu field with all technical falls to claim the championship.[35]
Cox did not come back to action until a year later when he competed at a series of FloWrestling events, compiling six more wins in total during January and February 2021.[39] Cox was then expected to compete at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials, as the favorite to challenge reigning Olympic championKyle Snyder in the best–of–three.[40] However, it was announced on the day of the event that Cox had missed weight, therefore he had been removed from competition.[41] Days later, more detail was given to the public, and it was explained that Cox had arrived to the weight-ins on time, but once he had stepped on the scale and successfully made the weight limit of 97 kg, it had been thirteen minutes past the 8:00 AM deadline, therefore, it was ruled as invalid by USA Wrestling.[42] Cox explained that he was misinformed of the weight-ins schedule by his coach Kevin Jackson, who is part of USA Wrestling.[43]
Cox protested the decision and him and his coach Kevin Jackson decided to appeal, however, nothing came to fruition.[44] A month later, Cox dropped the appeal and announced he had moved past the incident, stating;
"I don't think I could have taken it any better. My only issue when it came to what happened at the trials was there were people who in the light of things, when things were all good, turned their backs, literally." said Cox, "I think I told this to Bill Zadick when he called me, just like a week ago, I told him.; 'I'm here to destroy people's lives now. That's what I'm here to do. I'm here to take people out. I'm here to tear up the world.' It's not out of spite, it's not out of vengeance. It's just what will be. It's to prove to everyone what I've known and to prove and show what's been shown in the last two years, that I'm the best wrestler in the world. And I truly believe that and I'm going to do even more to showcase it."[45]
After the incidents, Cox moved back down to 92 kilograms and competed at the Poland Open on June 9.[46] In an upset, Cox was defeated in the semifinals by a regional circuit wrestler from Ukraine, and forfeited his next bout.[47]
Cox came back and competed at the 2021 US World Team Trials as the top-seed on September 11–12, intending to represent the country at the World Championships for the third straight time.[48] He was once again able to show off his signature movements and went unscored throughout his championship run, downing NCAA champions Drew Foster and Myles Martin, as well as powerhouse Kollin Moore.[49]
At the 2021 World Championships, Cox ran through his first three opponents on the first date, before being downed in a frenetic match by two-time U23 World ChampionKamran Ghasempour in the semifinals. The former champion defeated Ukraine in the bronze medal match to claim third place instead.[50]
2022
In late 2021, it was announced that the brand RUDIS would organize an event headlined by a super match between Olympic, World and NCAA championKyle Snyder and Cox, which took place on March 16, 2022, in a best of three format.[51] Cox was defeated in two straight bouts via decision.[52]
2024
On April 19, 2024 Cox competed in the United States Olympic Team Trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won his quarterfinal match over Christian Carrol by a 1-1 criteria decision. In the semifinals, he lost to Kollin Moore by a 2-2 criteria decision. Following the match, Cox left his wrestling shoes in the center of the mat to indicate that he was retiring from wrestling competition.[53]
Personal life
J'den is the son of Michael and Cathy Cox, both musicians. Cathy has long been associated with Mizzou athletics herself: she regularly performs the national anthem at Tiger basketball games. He has two older brothers Zach and Drae, and a younger sister Chai.[5] Cox's uncle Phil Arnold was a two-time Missouri state champion for Hickman High School.[4] The headgear Arnold used in winning his two titles is the same Cox and his older brothers wore during their high school careers.[4]
Cox has lost most of the hearing in his left ear and some of the hearing in his right. Even before he started losing his hearing in college, he was interested in sign language. He took classes on sign language in both high school and college and one day would like to teach those who are hearing impaired.[54] Cox posts videos teaching basic elements of sign language on social media, and Nike apparel supporting him includes the spelling of “Cox” in sign language.[55]
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