Kyle Crutchmer

Kyle Crutchmer (born May 5, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler and graduated collegiate wrestler.

He currently competes in the welterweight division of Bellator MMA.

As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA All-American and two-time Big 12 champion.

Crutchmer was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He is the son of Kevin and Tina Crutchmer and has three siblings, Brian, Justin and Kayla.

He has a very strong relationship with his stepbrother Brian, whom he grew up with since he was a baby when his mother abandoned him.

Since then, they attended high school and college together and even wrestled in the same team.

In Union High School he was a two-sport varsity athlete, competing in football (since his sophomore year) and wrestling.

He was also a standout football player, helping his school win three OSSAA team titles.

Crutchmer started wrestling in sixth grade.

While competing for Union High School, he won two 6A OSSAA individual titles, an NHSCA Junior National title and compiled an 198-30 record in folkstyle.

He was also highly successful in freestyle, as he won the USAW Fargo Junior Nationals in 2012 and placed second and third at the FILA Age-group Nationals.

Originally, Crutchmer was going to commit to the Sooners, but he ended up choosing the Cowboys as John Smith convinced him to and also to wrestle with his brother.

In his redshirt season (2012-2013), he compiled a 15-1 record in open tournaments at 174 pounds.

As a freshman (2013-2014), he compiled a 20-8 record at three different weight classes throughout the season but did not compete at the Big 12's or the NCAA's.

Fresh out of high school, Crutchmer made his senior freestyle debut at the 2013 US University National Championships in May.

He won three straight matches but was subsequently thrown to the consolation bracket by Alex Meyer in a 29-point match.

He was ultimately eliminated in his next bout by Gabe Dean, an eventual heavily accomplished wrestler.

As a sophomore (2014-2015), he compiled a 21-7 record and won his first Big 12 title, helping the Cowboys to win the team title.

At the NCAA's of that year, he went 4-2 to place fifth, earning All-American honors.

While he was still a freshman in college, Crutchmer competed at the 2014 US National University Championships.

He won his first five bouts by technical fall and the last one before the best-of-three finals by points.

At the best-of-three, he defeated his opponent two times to none, winning the championship at 80 kilograms.

After a big break of three years, Crutchmer competed at the US Open.

He won his first match by technical fall but subsequently lost to two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean and got thrown to the consolation bracket.

He bounced back and defeated four opponents before losing once again and proceeding to face Pat Downey at the fifth place match.

He lost the match on points and placed sixth, qualifying for the WTT Challenge Tournament.

At the World Team Trials Challenge tournament, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Pat Downey and was thrown to the consolation bracket, where he defeated eventual Greco-Roman World Team Member Joe Rau and was subsequently downed by Richard Perry.

Soon after he graduated, he started training at American Kickboxing Academy.

A couple of months later, he made his professional MMA debut.

He compiled an undefeated 4–0 record before signing with Bellator MMA.

As a junior (2015-2016), he compiled a 15-4 record, however, he suffered a season-ending injury at a dual match against the Sooners, leaving him unable to compete at the NCAA's or the Big 12's. As a senior (2016-2017), he compiled a 23-7 record and won his second Big 12 title at 174 pounds.

At the NCAA championships, he compiled 5 wins and 2 losses to place seventh and earn All-American honors for the second time in his NCAA career.

Overall, Crutchmer was a two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 champion with a record of 79 victories and 26 defeats as a collegiate wrestler.

Crutchmer was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Antonio Jones on November 8, 2019 at Bellator 233.

However, Jones withdrew from the bout and was replaced by Robert Gidron.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

In his next bout, Crutchmer faced Scott Futrell in a 175-pounds catchweight on February 21, 2020 at Bellator 239.

He won the fight by submission in the first round.

Crutchmer faced Kemran Lachinov on October 15, 2020 at Bellator 249.