BY KHURRAM AZIZ (FEATURED COLUMNIST)
Bleacher Report
UFC flyweight John Lineker could become the latest fighter to call on the services of nutritionist Mike Dolce after he missed weight for the third time competing for the UFC.
However, despite coming in at 128 pounds for his 125-pound match against Phil Harris at UFC Fight Night 30, his first-round TKO win still has him being talked of as a future title contender.
Lineker, a former Jungle Fight bantamweight champion, has always struggled to make the lighter weight class. But, with a series of impressive TKO wins now stretching to four straight, his job has never been under threat at least as far as UFC President Dana White is concerned.
White told the media after Saturday’s event in Manchester that Lineker would be a serious contender already in the thinly stacked flyweight division if he had not failed to make weight three times.
White said the 23-year-old Brazilian’s trainer at American Top Team, Dan Lambert, reached out to him after the event, promising to call in the services of Dolce to make sure the fighter makes weight next time.
According to MMA Junkie:
“[Lambert is] probably one of the best guys in the sport and has been since before we owned this company, and he hit us up tonight and said, ‘Let’s get this kid down to Florida training, get him on the Dolce Diet, and make sure this kid can cut weight,” White said. “[Lineker is] so good, if he had made weight in the three times that he missed, he probably would have a title shot right now. So he’s going to get him sorted out.”
There’s no denying Dolce’s prominence in the world of mixed martial arts. He got his big break in 2005 when he began working with Randy Couture and Dan Henderson at Team Quest and has since become a regular at UFC weigh-in events alongside fighters like Chael Sonnen and Gilbert Melendez. He is also said to be currently working with UFC veteran BJ Penn, who will be fighting at 145 pounds for the first time in his career against Frankie Edgar in 2014.
Of course there is no actual great secret to the “Dolce Diet”. Much of it is tried and tested sports nutrition methods and food most of us are used to. There are plenty of carbs and proteins, as well as fats, to choose from, including the kinds of food you could buy, say, in a deli in Oklahoma or any other part of the US.
In the end, it boils down to controlling calories and making sure the fighter gets enough nutrition during training before the serious weight cut begins in the week of the fight.
However, working with Lineker will certainly be one of Dolce’s biggest challenges considering how ridiculously low a fighter has to go to hit the 125-pound mark. Indeed, last month, Brazilian Leandro Souza died while cutting the final two pounds for his flyweight contest at Shooto Brazil 43.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Dolce said he was willing to take on the challenge of getting Lineker on weight next time.
“I’m a big friend and fan of Dan Lambert, and anything he says, I’m more than happy to help out… If he believes in Lineker, then I believe in the kid, too, and I think we can turn him into a world champion.”
Lineker is certainly a talented fighter in a division that desperately needs fresh challengers for title holder Demetrious Johnson.
Johnson has already gone through the highest-ranked fighters in the division, such as Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson. The fact that the UFC needs fresh blood for the title chase at flyweight is probably what keeps saving Lineker’s career, despite consistently missing weight.
