About 90 minutes south of San Francisco sits the Garlic Capital of America. A city of 61,000, Gilroy hosts a yearly Garlic Festival, is home to the world’s longest garlic braid, and remains one of the only places in the country where visitors can purchase garlic-flavored ice cream (available in both chocolate and vanilla variations).
When Daniel Cormier first came to Gilroy, he was well on his way to becoming a UFC champion. Cormier got his start as a competitive wrestler and had qualified twice for the U.S. Olympic team–Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In Athens, Cormier placed fourth. In Beijing, he was named team captain, but was unable to compete after suffering kidney failure from an excessive weight cut.
By 2013, Cormier had pivoted away from wrestling and was training mixed martial arts out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. He was showing serious potential as a professional fighter, working closely with then-UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Cormier would go on to become the second fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously and the first to successfully defend both.
Cormier needed a place to live during training, and Gilroy’s affordable real estate and small-town feel made it an attractive option. At the time, he was unaware of the city’s extensive history of wrestling. He was only vaguely aware of the garlic. Now, more than a decade later, the 47-year-old from Louisiana plays an important role in the small California city. When he isn’t traveling to commentate on UFC fights or film episodes of The Ultimate Fighter, Cormier spends his time in Gilroy, coaching wrestling at the local high school.
Cormier claims the Garlic Capital with pride, but his affection for the city goes beyond its status as a roadside attraction. “I would call it a small town where wrestling rules,” he says. “[The] people are kind. It’s a city built on hard work … [people] work hard and they’re proud of where they’re from”.
Wrestling first took hold of Gilroy in 1969, when city councilman Charlie Morales started the Gilroy Hawks Youth Wrestling Program. Himself a former wrestler, Morales founded the program as part of an initiative to get at-risk youth off the streets and away from gang
involvement. Many of Morales’ athletes went on to wrestle at the high school level, and before long the Gilroy High School Mustangs were regarded state-wide as a wrestling powerhouse. The school won its first state and national titles in 1977.
Born 10 years after the start of Morales’ program, Daniel Cormier followed a similar path to those first Gilroy wrestlers. Growing up in a tough neighborhood in Lafayette, Louisiana, Cormier quickly learned how to fight in order to defend himself. One day, his local high school wrestling coach drove past a fight that had broken out while Cormier and some friends were playing football. Instead of reprimanding the boys, the coach encouraged them to try wrestling.
Wrestling taught Cormier discipline and direction. “I find it very difficult to think that a kid in my situation, growing up, would find swimming or lacrosse, or, like… golf…. But wrestling finds you in the inner city, and it also finds you in towns like Gilroy. It finds you in the freaking Hamptons…. It’s a sport that is available to everyone.’’
In 2018, the MMA legend returned to the sport that gave him purpose. While actively training for his heavyweight title match against Stipe Miocic, Cormier received a call from Gilroy High School. The head wrestling coach had just stepped down from his position, and the program was in need of new leadership. Marco Sanchez, who was both principal and assistant wrestling coach, thought Cormier would be perfect for the job.
Sanchez had wrestled for Puerto Rico at the 1996 Olympics, and was enthusiastic about the prospect of another Olympian getting involved with the team. “Now, [seven] years later, he’s still at the helm,” says Sanchez. “[He’s] keeping Gilroy competitive at the section, state, and national levels.”
Under Cormier’s leadership, Gilroy’s wrestling legacy continues to grow. At the MidCal championship hosted each January, residents pack the gym to root for the Mustangs. Cheerleaders line the edges of the mats, where multiple duels take place simultaneously. “It has all the ambiance of a football game, but indoors,” says Sanchez.
Gilroy has won its conference title every year for the past 23 years. In Cormier’s words, they rule their division “with an iron fist.” While proud of the Mustangs’ success, Cormier won’t be satisfied until his athletes reach the pinnacle of the sport: the elusive California state title.
For Cormier, Gilroy is a place where he can put aside his celebrity and focus on doing what he loves. “When we go out around the state,” he says, “it’s that, ‘Can we get a picture?… But in town, it’s just, ‘Hey, Coach.'” Cormier takes pride in the close relationships he fosters with
his athletes. They bring tamales to his home at Christmas time and invite him to family gatherings. On a weekend afternoon, you might find a Mustang or two eating lunch in the Cormier dining room.
“You have to be able to not only teach them things that apply on the mat, but also try to give them some skills that are going to follow them into their life going forward,” Cormier says, “to make them good people whenever wrestling is done.” Cormier now operates an additional wrestling gym in Gilroy, where he coaches kids as young as five years old. There are 35 children currently enrolled in the five to seven year old class–a testament to the city’s commitment to wrestling. “The moment their kids can walk,” Cormier says with a laugh. “They start thinking… how soon can they wrestle?”
Next fall, Daniel Cormier will have yet another reason to stay close to Gilroy High. His son, Daniel Jr., will begin his freshman year at the school. He plans to join the wrestling team.
