It’s no secret that former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier at all times retains a watchful eye on the perfect wrestlers developing in the USA.
As a two-time Olympian and present coach of a high-school wrestling group, Cormier stays near the game he grew up loving earlier than turning into a fighter, nevertheless it seems he truly interacted with a future American gold medalist a number of years in the past and didn’t even comprehend it. Primarily coaching out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Cormier crosses paths with loads of fighters, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners, and wrestlers who additionally work out on the gymnasium — and that included future 2024 Olympic gold medalist Amit Elor.
“A little bit backstory, Amir Elor used to at all times be across the Bay space with a lady named Carolyn Wester, she coached at a membership referred to as Wrestling Prep and he or she teaches wrestling,” Cormier mentioned on The Fighter vs. The Author. “She’s a woman that coaches and he or she’s an incredible coach, very sensible girl.
“She would deliver Amit into [American Kickboxing Academy]. I didn’t know who she was however she would wrestle with the boys. I’ve all these photos of Amit, and Carolyn would take photos of Amit with the group. That’s one factor they do in MMA gyms. On the finish of follow, all people will get collectively for a photograph. Amit’s in loads of these photos.”
Elor’s work clearly paid off. She captured gold at 68kg with a surprising run by means of the 2024 Olympics, finally outscoring her opponents by a ridiculous margin of 31-2. At 20 years previous, she additionally turned the youngest American to ever win a gold medal in wrestling — a document as soon as held by Henry Cejudo, who received his gold medal in 2008.
None of it got here to a shock to Elor’s coach, who informed Cormier earlier than the Olympics began that she was going to dominate the sphere.
“Carolyn goes, ‘Amit’s wrestling [at the Olympics],’ and I’m going, ‘The little woman from the gymnasium?’” Cormier recounted. “She’s like, ‘Yeah, and he or she’s going to win.’ I’m like, ‘She’s that good?’ And she or he was like, ‘She’s going to win.’”
Not solely did Elor win in emphatic trend, she shared that glory along with her teammates after the U.S. girls went house with two gold medals — the opposite received by Sarah Hildebrandt — a silver from 20-year-old phenom Kennedy Blades, and a bronze for Helen Maroulis.
“She killed it,” Cormier mentioned of Elor. “That first match, speak about unhealthy luck. The World Champion from the 12 months earlier than from that weight class will get the World Champion from the load up in her very first match. [Elor] destroys her. She went onto kill the remainder of the sphere after that.”
Whereas Elor’s focus stays on wrestling, particularly with the 2028 Olympics taking place in her house state of California, she has loads of time left to perform much more objectives.
Elor might doubtlessly wrestle throughout no less than three Olympic cycles and would solely be 28 when it was throughout.
When the day comes that she hangs her singlet up for the ultimate time, Cormier believes Elor is destined to make waves in MMA.
“She’s going to battle,” Cormier mentioned. “She’s going to be a fighter. For nearly as good as she is in wrestling, she does very well in judo, she does great in jiu-jitsu. If she does begin doing [MMA] competitively, they’re going to be in hassle.”
First issues first, Cormier needs Elor to stay with wrestling as a result of she’s going to stay an enormous asset to the American group. As a lot as Cormier liked his UFC profession, and the cash and accomplishments that got here together with it, he is aware of there’s nothing fairly like chasing Olympic glory.
“We are able to’t lose Amit Elor,” Cormier mentioned. “I like when nice wrestlers come into blended martial arts, however I’m at all times for them doing it after they’re performed chasing their Olympic desires. You don’t get to try this once more. In case you have a chance to be the perfect on this planet, you chase that so long as you may and you then go do one thing completely different. I don’t assume it needs to be coming sooner than wanted.
“You go and wrestle so long as you must wrestle, and you then come to attempt to make the cash because the UFC fighter.”
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