Meet Sayif Saud of Fortis MMA in Deep Ellum

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sayif Saud.

Sayif Saud is the founder of a state of the art MMA facility located in Deep Ellum. A facility mixed with some of the best fighters in the world training with elite doctors/attorneys and others notables in Dallas. The gym has been making headlines in 2017. A little bit about him and how he started the world class facility. His 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, 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.

Ultimately, 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 also closely studied wrestling with former NCAA Division 1 champion and UFC vet Mike Van Arsdale & Renowned striking Coach Mike Winklejohn; being cornered by all of these coaches at one point or another while competing.  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.

After moving to Dallas in 2009, he began coaching at Octagon MMA. 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. Wanting a bigger facility for his athletes. In 2015 he began building Fortis MMA. Taking a building in Deep Ellum and revamping it into a state of the art facility for MMA and fitness. He partnered with three time NBA All-Star Deron Williams who he has trained for some time in MMA. Fortis MMA opened in December of last year and has become a booming success. With one of the nicest Mixed Martial Arts facilities in the country, Fortis has been featured on UFC countdown and many more media outlets. Fortis has already produced three UFC fighters and won 13 fights this past summer dominating Dana White’s new show “The Contender”. Athletes from all over the country are traveling to train at the gym. Fortis has grown quickly with all the recognition. The Fortis membership was limited to keep the gym spacious and member focused. The staff is filled with coaches who have competed at the highest level in their respective fields. The membership is filled with a wide array of people from doctors and attorneys to fighters competing in the UFC. Fortis prides itself on providing an elite clean environment to learn martial arts and work members to get in the best physical shape and condition they have ever seen. Sayif has stated “Many try to copy training in MMA or kickboxing with the popularity of the UFC these days, but the danger lies in the fact that those instructing have no real experience or credentials. It is important to train with coaches who have the proper experience for the safety of the clients. Many of the commercial franchise gyms just try to pack as many people as they can in and tell them hit the bag, real training doesn’t work that way. We want to take someone who wants to learn and provide them an elite education in an elite environment. We work diligently every day to do just that”.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The challenge when owning a gym is to continue to improve the environment every day. To keep your members motivated you need to continue to make their experience better and more challenging every day!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We specialize in providing an elite education in mixed martial arts in an elite environment.

What were you like growing up?
Been doing martial arts since I was three, my lifelong passion.

Contact Info:

• Address: www.fortismma.com
• Website: www.fortismma.com
• Phone: (972) 707-7805
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortis_mma/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/fortismmadallas/