As most of you know I have been involved in the fight game for a while. I started in judo and karate as a kid and then gravitated through boxing, Muay Thai and MMA into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling in which I compete now.
Suffice to say I know the game of fighting better than most nutritionists out there.
And as I've also consulted to many champion boxers and mixed martial artists I know how to 'cut' fighters.
I recently had my first real opportunity to 'cut' fighters here in North America.
I have been working with two very exciting young MMA fighters in Vancouver: Kyle 'Special K' Wisniewski (fighting out of Franco's Pankration) and Mike Maguire from Universal Mixed Martial Arts. Both tremendously talented with bright futures and both competing in their first Professional fights.
Mike was fighting at the 'Valley Fight' card in Chilliwack, BC and Kyle at NAC 24 in North Vancouver, BC.
The guys, because of where they were starting from (in terms of their body types and physiques) and the weights they needed to reach, had quite different requirements for their cutting process.
Mike Maguire: The 'Slide'...
Mike started at a little over 10% body-fat at around 206 pounds at the beginning of February. This meant we had to lose only 10lb in total to make fight weight.
10lbs only! - For many non-fighters that may seem like quite a lot, but many, many fighters cut A LOT more than that in a lot less time. It is pretty common practice to cut up to 10lb of water in the 2 days before a fight.
In this situation many coaches would simply have their athlete 'stay the course' and try to cut the weight at the end before the fight. However I always figure that starting earlier rather than later is the best course of action for cutting fighters. The reality is that there are usually subtle changes that we can make in a fighters nutrition between the relative 'off season' of normal training and the pre fight phase. We can become a little stricter and cleaner with food choices in order to lose a little extra body-fat.
Let's face it - excess fat weight is dead weight that will only make it harder to cut the last few pounds in the days leading up to the fight. It is always better, where possible, to be leaner and encourage a greater and greater level of leanness (up to a sensible level) through intelligent nutrition over time in order to hold the most amount of muscle and the least amount of fat relative to the amount of weight needed to drop.
The amount of times I deal with and hear of fighters having to cut large amounts of weight rapidly when they are still holding too much fat is astronomical.
The more that you have to cut in the days before the fight the more consummate you must be with your replenishment and reloading and the greater at risk you are of exhaustion. And if you DO need to cut a lot of weight it is better to do that because you are big, muscular, lean, fast and strong than simply being fat!
I call Mike's cut 'the Slide' because it was a gentle 'slide' into shape.
Over the coming months Mike's quality of eating was subtly changed so that he tapped into a little extra body-fat, partitioned nutrients more effectively and lost some residual body-fat...without needing to DIET! Let me repeat that.....He didn't need to diet!
I made sure that Mike was optimally fuelled and was consummate with his portion control while paying attention to the quality of his food intake. This allowed him to drop to 8% in March and an estimated 7% before the weigh in.
The only 'cut' we really needed to do was a 'hold' on the day with water restriction as he had 'slid' down to his expected fight weight at a ripped and ready 195lb. He was still able to eat, feel good and come in easy as you could wish. On the day of the weigh in he looked big and ripped for a 195lb'er and he felt great, and 'ready to go'....
Success for the 'Easy Slide!'
Kyle Wisniewski: The 'Drop'...
Kyle on the other hand started at around 226lb for a 205lb fight. I figured we could cut later in the game and given his style of training, recovery history and body type any drastic restriction initially would have been counterproductive for recovery and metabolic status.
So we initially focused on carbohydrate quality particularly as there were signs of some degree of insulin resistance, and I applied some cool macronutrient combining tricks to help slowly chip away at body-fat and support muscle...again without restricting calories!
This is something I cannot stress enough, and something I hammer home in my lectures and seminars that quality is SO much more important that quantity when it comes to diet. I could make someone fat on 1000calories a day...but I dieted down to 5-6% body-fat for my last Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament - on 3000 calories a day!...and I fight at under 165lbs!
Kyle consistently dropped fat whilst maintaining and building a little muscle - going from mid 220's at over 14% BF down to low 220's at 11% BF a month out from his fight.
In the month before he continued to drift down until he was under 10% body-fat in the high 210s.
This still left a fairly significant cut. But I have cut great amounts of water weight off athletes for competition before, and have myself dropped weight quickly and effectively before several All-Round Weightlifting World Championship meets. So I knew from experience as a nutritionist AND as an athlete that it could be done with relative ease. He knew he was in good hands, I knew that he was in good hands and so we were set for the final cut!
....and here's how it panned out:
Beginning of the week - 218lbs
Thursday morning - 213lbs
Thursday night - 211lbs
Weigh in - 206lbs (making weight)
There were a couple of tense moments when Kyle wasn't 100% sure that we would make it and there was more than one occasion when I picked the exact weight that he would be the next morning or following evening! Knowing that I was on the ball really helped my fighter to be confident in his nutritionist and allowed him to more or less forget about his diet and instead focus on his final weeks training, preparation and recovery strategies.
Kyle made weight easily and immediately switched gears into a tailored replenishment program I designed for him. On the day of the fight he had regained his lost weight and more to come in on the day big, ripped, well hydrated, full of fuel...and ready to open a big ol' can o' whoop ass!
Success for 'the drop'!
...And how did they go in their fights?
Mike's fight was first up on Friday night at the 'Valley Fight' card in Chilliwack. He was set to face a tough opponent; Warren 'The Enemy' Anderson from Franco's Pankration (also in Vancouver).
Both the guys came out swinging and I'm sure definitely knew they were in for a fight! Anderson landed some good, stiff punches as Mike's bloodied nose showed after the fight. Anderson also made some great takedowns but Mike stuck to his game plan to keep the fight standing with some great take down defense and the ability to quickly regain his feet of taken down. On the feet it was a pretty even battle initially but Mike's wicked Muay Thai clench (courtesy of trainer Wilf Betz) allowed him to eat him up with knees. I think the call of the day from us in the corner was 'clench Mike....KNEEEEEES!'
We thought Mike had a knockout about 3 minutes into the first round when he collected Anderson with a series of devastating punches send that sent him into the ropes. Fortunately for Anderson his hand became entangled in the rope, giving him time to recover whilst the ref untangled it. At the restart they both came back swinging - Mike landed a hard rising kick to the body of Anderson and then a heated exchange was ended by a left rising kick and jab followed by an absolute hammer of a straight right sending Anderson to the canvas.
We thought Mike had a knockout about 3 minutes into the first round when he collected Anderson with a series of devastating punches send that sent him into the ropes. Fortunately for Anderson his hand became entangled in the rope, giving him time to recover whilst the ref untangled it. At the restart they both came back swinging - Mike landed a hard rising kick to the body of Anderson and then a heated exchange was ended by a left rising kick and jab followed by an absolute hammer of a straight right sending Anderson to the canvas.
Success! First round knockout!
The fight was called the 'fight of the night' and the crowd was buzzing about the obvious talent of the fighters and the maturity that Mike bought to the ring in only his first Pro fight.(Thanks to the Universal MMA crew - Muay Thai coach Wilf Betz, BJJ Coach Chris Ross and BJJ Instructor Shane Rice.)
Here's what Mike has to say about the cutting process:
"Heading into my first professional MMA bout I weighed a sluggish 204lbs at about 10-12% body fat 2 months beforehand. Through Cliff's training regime and nutritional advances I was able to reach my goal of 195lbs at the weigh in (24hrs prior to fight) with a lean 6% body fat. Cliff demonstrates a strong confidence in his methods, he believes in his clients, and will go the distance to improve the total quality of their training and nutrition. I won in the first round by way of KO...needless to say Cliff was right there, making sure I was stretched and ready to fight and with me at ringside the whole way."
~ Mike Maguire (Pro MMA fighter - Universal MMA)
Kyle's fight was at the 'North American Challenge - NAC 24' in North Vancouver, BC. His opponent: Kyle Thorpe a big, tough, athletic capoeirista from Axe Capoeria. As expected Thorpe came out with some big kicks and a flurry of punches...even if you don't think much of Capoiera as a fighting are the guys are always exciting to watch! Thorpe came at Kyle like a bull at a gate. Throwing kicks and punches which Kyle deftly avoided (for the most part!). When it became a clench situation Kyle was easily able to muscle Thorpe to the ground and thoroughly dominated position on the floor - and running out of time in round #1 for a triangle choke.
Rounds 2 and 3 were more of the same; trading blows from the outside and then Kyle dominating position on the ground. Kyle ended the fight by finally being able to posture up against his extremely awkward opponent and raining down blows from the mount in a classic 'ground and pound' to solidify his decision victory in the minds of the crowd and the judges. There was no doubt that Kyle had dominated and could have really inflicted some SERIOUS damage had he been able to posture up earlier.
Success for Kyle with a decision victory!
(Thanks to Chris Franco, Dan Lim and the team at Franco's Pankration)
Here's what Kyle has to say:
"I started to see Cliff once my first professional mma fight at 205lbs was scheduled. I was weighing about 225lbs so I was a little concerned.
Cliff made me feel confident with his scientific approach to my training camp diet and especially the last day weight cut.
In the end I made my weight with ease and was able to maximize my fight day weight to gain an advantage. I already have plans for 'The King of the Cut' to be involved for my next fight!"
~ Kyle Wisniewski, Team Franco MMA
If you are a fighter cutting for competition don't worry about your nutrition....let me worry about it! The last thing you need is to have one more thing to worry about...and risking being tired, dehydrated and under-fueled on the day is a risk that is too great to take.
