Phil Daru

Phil Daru
Born (1988-11-20) November 20, 1988 (age 36)
Other namesBam Bam
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight151 lb (68.49 kg)
DivisionLightweight
RankBrown belt in Kenpo[1]
Years active2011–2013
Mixed martial arts record
Total4
Wins1
By knockout0
By submission0
By decision1
Losses3
By submission2
By decision1

Phil Daru (born November 20, 1988) is an American former mixed martial artist and college football player.[2][3] Daru is noted for training UFC fighters,[4] boxers,[5] Olympic athletes,[6] and NFL football players. He was named Best Strength and Conditioning Coach in the State of Florida, 2012/13 and also won the World MMA Awards Trainer of the Year in 2019-20 and 2021.[3][7][8]

Early life

Daru was born in Broward County, Florida.[9][10] He began training in kenpo karate at four years old.[1] At eight years old, he began playing football.[11] By the age of 12, he started weight training for football.[1] He went on to play Division 1 college football as a strong safety and special teams gunner at Alabama State University.[12][1][11]

After his sophomore year of college, Daru began training in MMA under his first coach, Din Thomas at an affiliate of the American Top Team gym.[1] During his own training, Daru learned under trainers such as Tony Montgomery.[13] Daru also went on to earn two degrees in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science from Alabama State University.[12]

Career

Daru competed in several amateur MMA fights before turning pro in 2009, at age 21.[14] He had his first fight against Kurt Holobaugh under the XFC organization.[14] He went on to have one more fight for the XFC before having two fights under the sReal Fighting Championships (RFC) promotion.[14]

While still fighting professionally, Daru opened his own gym at 22 years old. He moved on to full-time coaching after retiring from MMA in 2014.[15][16]

In 2014, Daru began working at American Top Team[17] as a strength and conditioning coach after his retirement from fighting.[11][17][18] Daru stepped down from his position at American Top Team in 2020.[3]

Daru owns multiple performance centers, including some opened together with exercise physiologist and former US Marine Jose Rojas

Daru and Rojas has also developed strength and conditioning methods for professional athletes and coaches.[19][4]

Personal life

Daru is married to Mirella Daru.[20]

Selected list of trainees

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e theunknownstrength.com
  2. ^ "The Science Behind Being Daru Strong with Phil Daru". Podomatic.
  3. ^ a b c "American Top Team loses second coach". May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Fight Ready MMA Training Program Review - Is It Worth A Try?". www.aikidoguro.us.
  5. ^ a b c myboxinglife.com
  6. ^ a b "Contrast Training For Judo Explosive POWER With Olympian Angelica Delgado" – via www.youtube.com.
  7. ^ "Amanda Nunes, Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal pace major winners at World MMA Awards". MMAjunkie.com. December 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "2021 World MMA Awards Results". mmafighting.com. December 10, 2021.
  9. ^ "Mark Bell's Power Project EP. 290 - Phil Daru" – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ^ Why Did Phil Daru Leave American Top Team? Mike Dolce's MMA Podcast
  11. ^ a b c "How to Train & Perform Like an MMA Fighter with Phil Daru - Episode 325". 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  12. ^ a b Thomas, Luke (2017-03-19). "Technique Talk: Phil Daru on the intersection of injury, training and outcomes". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  13. ^ "#005: Tony Montgomery - Powerlifting, Dangers of Bodybuilding and Athlete Nutrition - The Daru Strong Podcast" – via www.buzzsprout.com.
  14. ^ a b c "Phil". Sherdog.
  15. ^ "Phil Daru Changing the Course of Conventional Training And Athleticism". October 22, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Coach Phil Daru Explains Why Left A.T.T." Bjj Eastern Europe. May 28, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c Mahjouri, Shakiel (2019-09-01). "Dustin Poirier coach predicts fourth-round finish of Khabib: 'We're going to make him tired'". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  18. ^ "Phil Daru talks MMA Training". Official Website of Joe DeFranco & DeFranco's Gym!. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  19. ^ Thomas, Luke (2017-03-19). "Technique Talk: Phil Daru on the intersection of injury, training and outcomes". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  20. ^ "Coach Phil Daru and his wife Mirella Daru attend the 10th annual..." Getty Images.
  21. ^ "American Top Team coach Phil Daru discusses training Dustin Poirier ahead of UFC 242". MyMMANews.com. 2019-08-28. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  22. ^ The Washington Post.
  23. ^ "Phil Daru explains how movement was key in Dustin Poirier's win over Conor McGregor". January 30, 2021.
  24. ^ "Joanna Jedrzejczyk's Conditioning Coach Says Perfecting Ahtletes Undermined His Methods". December 10, 2017.
  25. ^ "Joanna's Coach Says Fired Nutrition Team Had Her Cutting Weight With Pretzels And Hummus". December 12, 2017.
  26. ^ "Twitter Mailbag". MMA Junkie. 2020-06-06. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  27. ^ Taylor, Chris (August 1, 2020). "Photo | Junior dos Santos is shredded for upcoming UFC 252 fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik | BJPenn.com".
  28. ^ a b "50: World-Renowned Strength and Conditioning Coach Phil Daru on Training Like an MMA Fighter and Building a Successful Business". October 5, 2020.
  29. ^ "MMA Strength and Conditioning - Expert Roundtable". GC Performance Training.
  30. ^ "Will Brooks and Joanna Jedrzejczyk work together under the watchful eye of Phil Daru" – via streamable.com.
  31. ^ "MMA Speed & Power Training with Edson Barboza and Phil Daru". Iron Army, LLC.
  32. ^ "Mark Bell's Power Project EP. 436 - Phil Daru & Maureen Shea" – via www.youtube.com.
  33. ^ "Building Explosive Power & Strength For Pro Boxer "Maureen Shea"" – via www.youtube.com.
  34. ^ "Alessio Sakara-S&C training session w/Phil Daru" – via www.youtube.com.
  35. ^ Bricker, Matt. "Jordan Young is Bellator's Next Young Phenom - MMA Sucka".
  36. ^ "Kayla Harrison: 'I Had to Fight'". Sherdog.
  37. ^ Ape, Irish (March 14, 2020). "Go The Distance With Boxing Workout Without Equipment".
  38. ^ Pendleton, Mike (March 1, 2019). "EXCLUSIVE | Phil Daru expects "revived" Tecia Torres at UFC 235 | BJPenn.com".