The US-born Amit Elor made history in the most recent Summer Olympic Games. In the 2024 Olympics hosted in Paris, France, Elor earned the title of the youngest American wrestler to win a gold medal at just the age of 20.
Amit Elor
Former Olympic Medalist and UFC title contender Sara McMann coached the young athlete to impressive success. The Olympic silver medalist McMann knows the struggles of being an Olympic-level wrestler and an MMA fighter. If you are inspired by athletes’ journeys from the Olympics to MMA, then make sure to check out gates of olympus for more.
Speaking in an interview on the success of Amit Elor, McMann said:
“I know she’s had a lot of different struggles when it comes to wrestling with some of her ups and downs, so the fact that she persisted and I got to look back and see that quality of human as the person who carries the torch for the sport I love and the country I love. I’m like a proud momma.”
After earning her gold medal, Amit Elor thanked McMann for her incredible guidance, she explained:
“I’ve been through my highs and lows and I have to say Sara’s a big reason for me being successful today and for healing my relationship with wrestling and loving the journey and staying positive. She’s been such a great influence on me.”
Amit Elor began wrestling at the incredibly young age of 4, inspired by watching her older brother’s practices. She quickly showed promise in the sport, winning multiple high school tournaments and a California Interscholastic Federation state championship during her freshman year.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Amit Elor dominated her competition. She won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle 68kg category, outscoring her opponents 31-2 over four matches and not conceding a single point in her last three bouts.
Olympic wrestler and UFC world champion Daniel Cormier said that it is only a matter of time until Amit Elor becomes a UFC fighter. He is confident that she will take gold in the UFC as well. He said:
“She’s going to fight. She’s going to be a fighter. For as good as she is in wrestling, she does really well in judo, she does tremendous in jiu-jitsu. If she does start doing [MMA] competitively, they’re going to be in trouble.
“I love when great wrestlers come into mixed martial arts, but I’m always for them doing it after they’re done chasing their Olympic dreams. You don’t get to do that again. If you have an opportunity to be the best in the world, you chase that as long as you can and then you go do something different. I don’t think it should be coming earlier than needed.
“You go and wrestle as long as you need to wrestle, and then you come to try and make the money as the UFC fighter.”
There are several UFC fighters who began their careers in the Olympics. These include such figures as Henry Cejudo and Ronda Rousey, among others. Henry Cejudo is one of the most accomplished Olympians to compete in the UFC. He won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cejudo went on to become a two-division UFC champion, holding both the flyweight and bantamweight titles.
Ronda Rousey won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She became the first female UFC champion and a pioneer for women’s MMA, defending the bantamweight title six times.
The aforementioned Sara McMann won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She challenged for the UFC women’s bantamweight title in 2014 but lost to Ronda Rousey.
Daniel Cormier represented the United States in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Though he didn’t medal, Cormier placed 4th in 2004. He later became a two-division UFC champion, holding both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.
Yoel Romero won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics representing Cuba. He had a successful UFC career as a middleweight contender, known for his athleticism. Similarly, Hector Lombard competed in judo at the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Cuba. He had a notable MMA career, becoming the Bellator middleweight champion before joining the UFC.
Will Amit Elor jump into MMA later on? If she does, the UFC title better tread lightly because she is a real threat.
