DALLAS – When you’re one of the most highly touted up-and-coming wrestlers in MMA, a move from one elite training camp to another is going to raise a few eyebrows.
But when Bellator welterweight standout Kyle Crutchmer made the shift from American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., to Fortis MMA in Dallas, he said it was only so he could put his family first, ahead of what had become his gym family.
He said his longtime wrestling coach at AKA, Daniel Cormier, who is Crutchmer’s mentor and a former two-division UFC champ, helped facilitate the move from California to Fortis under head coach Sayif Saud. Cormier, like Crutchmer, is an Oklahoma State wrestling alum.
