Tag: UFC

Many MMA fans were pretty surprised that former champion BJ Penn hadn’t starting doing his traditional trash talking before fighting at UFC 118, but wait no more. Penn recently talked to FightLine, and showed little respect for the man that took his title, calling it a joke and then discussed how the fight would break down:

“I’m not afraid to exchange with him in any way,” said Penn. “I don’t think he wants to exchange with me. He’s going to be running around. He’s just going to try to jazz up what he did last time. A little quicker, a little better, maybe throw in a little kick. His corner, they don’t have much to work with. They’ve just got little Frankie Edgar. They don’t have the knockout king or the submission king. They’ve just got Frankie Edgar.”

Penn sounds slightly bitter, but most would be surprised if he doesn’t recapture his title. With another win Edgar would certainly cement himself as the champion, and not a one off fluke. UFC 118: Edgar Vs. Penn II is set for August 28 UFC 118 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Also on the card is a highly anticipated matchup between Randy Couture and James Toney as well as an important lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard.

Mike Dolce, thought by many to be one of the best nutritionists in the MMA game, has been hired by welterweight UFC fighter Thiago Alves to help get his weight problems under control. Alves has frequently come in over weight, the latest being a 1.5 pound miss at UFC 117 when he fought Jon Fitch. Now Alves hopes that the man who helped Quinton “Rampage” Jackson lose 45 lbs before his return fight against Rashad Evans can help him stay in the 170 weight class. MMAFighting talked to Dolce:

“I’ve been a fan of Thiago’s for a long time, I just think he’s fun to watch, and I saw the problems he had with his weight, whether it was missing weight or underperforming because of struggling to make weight. So after this time I sent Malki [Kawa] a text and said, ‘Enough [expletive] around, let’s get me working with Thiago.’ Here it is Monday and we’re moving forward with it. Hat’s off to Malki and to Thiago for showing how serious they are about doing it.”

“Thiago told me on the phone earlier that he walks around at 195 [pounds] eight weeks before the fight. I said, ‘Sh-t, that’s it? You can do that the week before the fight with me and you’ll feel phenomenal.’”

“The sauna to me is like an oven. Most saunas are 180 degrees. You’re actually cooking, roasting your organs. You’re cooking your brain, your heart, your liver. You’re bringing them into a detrimental state on the eve of the most important event of your life. Why would you do that to yourself? Most athletes just think, Oh, I have to make weight. Not, I have to make weight and then perform at the best of my ability. I keep my athletes super-hydrated the week of the fight. I keep them eating food, eating carbohydrates the entire week of the fight.”

Alves is a popular fighter due to his aggressive style but his inability to come in at the right weight is certainly something that most MMA fans gripe about. With a better weight cut we could see a more powerful version of the fighter, which would be scary really. Will it happen?