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    UFC champ, Olympian Cormier new coach at Gilroy High School

    Daniel Cormier

    Daniel Cormier, UFC light-heavyweight champ, two-time Olympian and NCAA finalist for Oklahoma State, has something new to add to his impressive resume: head wrestling coach at Gilroy High School, the California school announced Tuesday.

    Shawn Bunch (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)
    Joining Cormier on the coaching staff at Gilroy -- ranked No. 12 in the nation by InterMat -- is Shawn Bunch, two-time NCAA All-American for Edinboro University at 133 pounds in 2005 and 2006 who is 7-3 in his pro mixed martial arts career, and Kyle Crutchmer, twice an All-American at 174 pounds for Oklahoma State in 2015 and 2017. Cormier will not draw a salary from the school, but will give his stipend to Bunch and Crutchmer.

    Cormier will plan to continue to compete in the UFC Octagon (including preparing for a July heavyweight title fight vs. defending champ Stipe Miocic) and coachihng at the Daniel Cormier-AKA Youth Wrestling Club in the San Jose area, where Cormier resides with his wife and two children.

    "Thank you to (principal) Dr. Marco Sanchez for giving me this opportunity and thanks to my wife Salina for allowing me to pile more onto an already full plate," Cormier told MMAFighting.com.

    "This opportunity is huge for me," Cormier said. "Wrestling has been the foundation for everything I've done. I'm excited to coach a great team in Gilroy and excited to give back to the town that has accepted me and my family so openly."

    Daniel Cormier at a Beat the Streets event held in LA in 2013 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
    In addition to being a UFC champ with a 20-1-1 record, the 39-year-old Cormier brings a strong on-the-mat resume to his new position at one of the nation's top high school wrestling programs. He was a three-time Louisiana high school state champ who continued his wrestling career at Colby Community College in Kansas, where he was a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) titlewinner. Cormier then transferred to Oklahoma State, where he made it to the 184-pound finals of the 2001 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, losing to Iowa State's Cael Sanderson. In addition, Cormier had a strong freestyle career, including qualifying as a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and 2008.

    Gilroy High School is a four-year public high school located in Gilroy, Calif. in Santa Clara County, just south of San Jose. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students.
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