Draft:Sayif Saud

• Comment: Sources need to be WP:Secondary and WP:Independent from the subject. Bobby Cohn (talk) 01:07, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

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Sayif Saud (born September 5, 1980) is the head coach and owner (Fortis MMA), UFC analyst and former professional MMA fighter. As the Founder/Owner and Head Coach at Fortis MMA in Dallas, TX, Sayif is currently working with over 20 fighters in the UFC. Fighters under his tutelage include Brandon Moreno, Geoff Neal, Ryan Spann, Macy Chiasson and several other ranked fighters in the UFC.

Background

Sayif’s martial arts training began in his father’s dojo at the age of three.  He won two state titles in the process of earning his black belt in judo. He then went on to study Shorin-Ryu karate and won four national titles.  He received his black belt in 1997 from the United Karate-do Kai.  Shortly after, Sayif focused his attention on academics and bodybuilding. He graduated with honors from Indiana University-Bloomington with a degree in Political Science, then attended law school at Indiana University-Indianapolis. During this time, Sayif also won several NPC bodybuilding competitions and was featured in multiple magazines.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

Sayif’s passion for the martial arts led him to study with world-class trainer Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, NM from 2006-2009.  While there, Sayif closely studied wrestling with former NCAA Division 1 champion and UFC vet Mike Van Arsdale & Renowned Coach Mike Winklejohn; being cornered by all of these coaches and former UFC champion Rashad Evans. Some of Sayif’s submission grappling accomplishments include winning Best of the West and American Championships tournaments and earning a Grappler’s Quest silver medal.  Undefeated as an amateur, his competitive career culminated with an undefeated professional record of 3-0 in MMA but was cut short due to injury. He would go on to start coaching in 2009.

Head Coach Transition

Octagon MMA

His coaching journey began at Octagon MMA in 2009, where he would begin to build a special team of fighters who started making waves across various fighting promotions. Working with over 20 fighters from such elite promotions as Legacy FC, UFC and Bellator. He brought some of the world’s best athletes and trainers to Texas, including notables Greg Jackson, former UFC champion Rashad Evans and former Strikeforce champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal among many others.

Coach Saud’s team compiled a 40-5 record in 2011 and he was recognized as TXMMA’s “People’s Choice” for Coach Of The Year. He would also garner the distinction of Coach Of The Year (2013, 2014, and 2015) and awarded Team Of The Year in 2013 and again in 2014 while coaching at Octagon MMA. In 2015 Sayif would go on to build his vision of Fortis MMA from scratch.

Fortis MMA

He created the gym after a year and a half of construction. Sayif took an old art gallery and added on to the space to create one of the most unique mma gyms in the world. Fortis mma opened in December of 2016. Sayif would create one of the winningest mma programs in the world. He would start with zero fighters in the UFC. Now Fortis has one of the largest teams in the world with over 20 UFC athletes competing in the premier fighting organization in the world. He would grow them at home becoming the winningest team on Contender series history and graduating 15 athletes into the UFC through Dana White’s show. The Fortis team would have the highest winning percentage of any team in the world in the UFC with a 16-4 record in 2018 and 19-5 record 2019. World MMA awards nominated Sayif for “Coach of the year and Fortis MMA for “Team of the year” as well 2019-2020. Sayif has 7 fighters ranked in the top 15 in the UFC. Fortis MMA would dominate again in 2022 winning over 20 fights in the UFC. The team would have some huge marquee wins and be selected as Gym of the year by MMAJUNKIE; recognized as the best MMA gym in the world.

Sayif would go on to train UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno who would capture the undisputed UFC flyweight title for a second time in Rio de janerio, Brazil on January 22nd, 2023. Sayif’s journey from humble beginnings to reaching the very pinnacle of the sport. Sayif also was recruited for a show he does for the UFC called UFC Breakdown. He breaks down all of the UFC main event title fights in detail. This show would have massive success and sometimes have over half a million views on UFC platforms. Sayif has become renowned as one of the top minds in the world in mixed martial arts. Athletes travel from all over the world to train with him. He has 85 UFC wins as a head coach, an incredible number. He continues to push his team into the history books of mixed martial arts and still coaches full time at Fortis MMA.

UFC Analyst

Saud has expanded his horizons into an analyst role for the UFC’s YouTube channel. The detailed videos can be up to an hour long, and over that time Saud applies the tactics of tape study and analysis that are essential for a premier coach.

The video series, which focuses on UFC pay-per-view headlining title fights, has been met with strong engagement. The majority have hundreds of thousands of views, which is a promising start to a venture Saud never expected for himself. He is now currently in the running for the World MMA Awards Analyst of the Year for 2024.