Amit Elor tipped to become MMA star by UFC legend after winning Olympic gold with help from Ronda Rousey rival
Daniel Cormier thinks Amit Elor could be the next Olympic wrestler to transition to MMA.
On Tuesday, the 20-year-old American defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova 3-0 in the 68kg final to claim gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
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In doing so, she became the youngest Olympic wrestling gold medallist in US history and extended her winning streak to 41, a run that dates back five years.
Cormier believes Elor has what it takes to succeed as an MMA fighter.
The former dual-weight champion was an Olympic wrestler before changing sports, as was Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren, Dan Henderson, and some other UFC stars.
Elor is already several steps ahead of most people as she is a skilled judoka and owns a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which would make her a menace on the mat for any potential MMA opponent.
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The California native also has a former UFC title challenger in her corner.
Elor’s head coach is Sara McMann, who claimed a silver medal in wrestling at the 2004 Athens Games before transitioning to MMA and signing for the UFC.
McCann shared the Octagon with ex-champions Amanda Nunes, Miesha Tate, and Julliana Pena, but is most known as an opponent of Ronda Rousey.
The 43-year-old, who hasn’t fought since suffering a TKO loss to Leah McCourt at Bellator 300 last October, famously challenged ‘Rowdy’ for UFC gold in 2014.
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McCann suffered a stoppage defeat in 66 seconds, but she mixed it with the very best fighters and is certainly someone any budding MMA star would want on their team.
Elor is also managed by a known MMA agent. Cormier thinks all of the above means that it’s just a matter of time before we see her swap the wrestling mat for the MMA cage.
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"You know what’s interesting about Amit Elor? Who manages her, Daniel Rubenstein,” Cormier said on the ‘’ podcast he shares with Chael Sonnen
“What excites me about that is, what does Daniel Rubenstein manage? He doesn’t manage wrestlers, he manages MMA fighters. So, we might be looking at a future MMA fighter.
“And when you talk about blue chips, Henry Cejudo was a blue chip as Olympic champ, but not like Amit Elor. Amit Elor is a judo fighter, a jiu-jitsu fighter, she’s a world-champion wrestler, she can do it all.
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"When she crosses over to MMA, could you imagine, not only the excitement but how dangerous she could be and the potential star she could be when you’re carrying an Olympic gold medal?
“I mean, she won, and she skipped around the mat like a teenage girl, holding the American flag. We see kids skip all the time. She’s skipping like a little girl that accomplished her biggest dream.”
Elor must now decide if she wants to go again at the 2028 Olympics or if she wants to do a Rousey by changing sports and potentially becoming an MMA superstar.
Cormier certainly thinks she’s got everything it takes to reach the top.
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