Have you ever wondered how UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is able to maintain his unremitting movement though five rounds in the Octagon? Part of the answer to that question is Cruz’s incredible work ethic, but another key to the 135-pound titleholder’s unmatched stamina is Alliance MMA strength and conditioning coach Doug Balzarini.
When Balzarini first broke into the fitness industry, he was involved more with personal training than working with professional athletes. Although his original career plans didn’t include working with mixed martial artists, Balzarini is now depended upon to keep some of the sport’s premier athletes in top physical condition.
“My background, initially, was really just working with the everyday population, business executives and such,” Balzarini told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “Then, I got into working with athletes in general—both professional, high school and even youth—in everything from football, soccer and baseball at a Pro Performance facility here. That’s actually kind of how I got into MMA. Through that facility, I actually met Brandon Vera, who was my first professional MMA athlete.”
With plenty of distractions and obligations, many everyday people have become experts at making excuses for slacking during workouts or skipping them altogether. While he enjoyed working with both groups of individuals, the dedication to fitness of professional athletes is one characteristic that drew Balzarini to training mixed martial artists.
“With fighters, one thing I love about working with them is that this is their livelihood,” Balzarini said. “This is how they put their kids through school. This is how they put food on the table, so their determination and effort is always on point. I tell them to run through a wall, they’ll find a way to do it.”
Since working out is essentially part of a fighter’s job, it might not come as a surprise that they would be more motivated to hit the gym than non-athletes. However, based on his experience with athletes in other sports, Balzarini feels that mixed martial artists also work harder than other athletes in the gym.
“I have never worked with someone who works as hard as someone like Dominick Cruz,” Balzarini said. “Obviously, the results are there. He’s stacking up the belts. I’d say their effort level is, bar none, the hardest-working guys I’ve ever worked with, regardless of sport.”
While Cruz’s work ethic has never been something to slow him down, hand injuries have plagued him over the last year. Despite having to go under the knife multiple times, Cruz is still able to keep his conditioning in tact by working with Balzarini in different ways.
One of Cruz’s teammates at Alliance MMA, Phil Davis, has also been battling back from injury. A knee problem has kept Davis from competing in the Octagon for the last seven months. However, with Balzarini’s help, Davis will be in prime condition as soon as his rehabilitation is complete.
“It’s going to set us back a little bit, but it works out well with [Cruz’s] schedule, if you will,” Balzarini said. “Obviously, [Urijah] Faber and [Brian] Bowles have a fight coming up. Then, hopefully he’ll be done with rehab and training again so he’ll get something going again early next year. Someone like Phil, who’s coming back from a knee injury, same thing. We can work around it. We just have to make modifications and variations. We’re obviously just doing a little bit more upper body stuff. There’s ways that they’ll get the work in. We just have to get a little bit more creative.”
While a fighter’s skill set may seem most important to their success, they won’t be able to utilize those skills in the later rounds without proper conditioning. This was on full display in the main event of UFC 137, where B.J. Penn faded in the later rounds of his fight against Nick Diaz. If a fighter isn’t able to get the most out of their body, then they aren’t going to get the most out of their talent.
“If you don’t have the tank, then you’re not going to last,” Balzarini said. “You look at all the champs, I think every champ in every weight class has an amazing gas tank. All the way up to the heavyweights, Velasquez is known for his great cardio. I think it’s imperative that they incorporate [strength and conditioning] in.”
For more information on Balzarini, check out his website here.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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