Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include hemp seed consumption in the military; water and the weight cut; post-workout meals, and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey smiles while speaking with the media Wednesday during a press tour in Los Angeles for her title fight against Sara McMann at UFC 170 on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer)
Ronda Rousey was heavily favored going into her UFC 168 fight against Miesha Tate. And she delivered a dominant performance in defending her bantamweight championship against her heated rival last weekend.
But in early December, it didn’t appear so simple for Rousey.
Struggling with illness, her weight and an infection on her right hand, Rousey knew she had to do something different.
“I had taken on so much work and done so much the last couple months. I think I needed to change my diet,” Rousey said in an exclusive interview Wednesday during a press tour in Los Angeles.
The 2008 Olympic judo bronze medalist lobbed a phone call to trainer and former UFC fighter Mike Dolce to seek his expertise in getting her on the right path.
The journey actually began six months earlier when Rousey assumed a hefty workload. First came coaching in June against Tate on “The Ultimate Fighter” in Las Vegas, followed by several weeks in Bulgaria filming “The Expendables 3,” then after a few days home, flying to Atlanta for 10 days to film “Fast & Furious 7.”
Followed by six weeks of camp to prepare for the Tate fight.
Mike Dolce led women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey through her weight cut for her UFC 168 title defense.
“My whole life, I was normal. And not having any breaks and going from one thing to another and strengthening my immune system was becoming a main concern,” the 26-year-old Venice resident said. “And I never get sick. I don’t get sick at all. But when I was in Bulgaria, I got sick a couple times. And when I started my last camp I was really sick.”
And then there was a sizable cut on the second knuckle of Rousey’s right hand that would not heal properly. A blood blister eventually formed underneath it and the wound worsened.
Rousey took to wearing a bandage on the hand, but the true test of the severity came during a segment on “Fox Sports Live” when one of the hosts went to do a fist-bump on the air. Knowing she couldn’t go easy, Rousey, in her words, “went full pound” and showed off some of her newfound acting chops.
“I pounded with her and my whole hand went GAAAWWW!!!!” Rousey recalled. “It was the worst pain all down my hand, but I just had to do it and play it off.”
She added: “So I got to the point, my weight was heavy. I was barely eating. I’m on antibiotics. My hand wouldn’t heal. And then I was just like, ‘I’m gonna call Dolce and see if he agrees to do it.’ “
UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey weighs in at 135 lbs. for UFC 168 under the tutelage of performance coach Mike Dolce. Dolce is the best-selling author of The Dolce Diet book series.
Dolce’s tutelage paid dividends. Not only did Rousey comfortably make weight at 135 pounds, but she shook off the illness and her hand recovered.
“It totally changed,” Rousey said of her diet. “I went from having one big meal at night where he had me eating throughout the entire day.”
Against Tate, Rousey was extended past the first round for the first time in three amateur and seven pro fights, but Rousey was on point for much of the night. She landed 134 strikes to Tate’s 28 and took down her opponent six times compared with one for Tate.
The end came as they all have — tapout via armbar, only early in the third round.
Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include post weigh-in rehydration; healthy snacks; how to be lineman-large and still be healthy and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
We welcome Justin Boyarski who tells us how he lost 175 lbs. using The Dolce Diet books 3 Weeks to Shredded & Living Lean! Plus, Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include Ronda Rousey; Why choose organic?; Dealing with negative people; Increasing cardio endurance; World MMA Awards, Where to find calcium besides milk, and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
LAS VEGAS — Just over a year ago, Mike Dolce had verbally agreed to work with the thorn in Ronda Rousey’s side. Not Miesha Tate, but Cris Cyborg, the 145-pound Muay Thai machine who was debating a move southward to make the bantamweight limit and challenge Rousey. If only that had happened, who knows where the UFC women’s division would be today, but Dolce will tell you that things always seem to work out perfectly for him. The Cyborg deal never came to fruition, and instead, in early December, he struck a deal to work with the sport’s hottest star, Rousey.
Mike Dolce
The two had been friendly acquaintances through MMA for several years, and during season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Dolce was helping to assist Chael Sonnen when Sonnen invited Rousey to come in and tutor his charges. That visit strengthened their friendship, so when Rousey was not happy with her nutrition program in the early days of her UFC 168 camp, she knew just who to call.
By this time, she’d already been in training for about two weeks. From the outside looking in, there are two ways to see such a move: one of luxury, or one of absolute necessity (i.e., there’s a real problem).
“THAT KIND OF DIETARY PROGRAM IS COMMON IN BODYBUILDING AND FITNESS, SOME OF THE COSMETIC SPORTS CENTERS, BUT IT CERTAINLY DOESN’T WORK IN COMBAT SPORTS.”
– Mike Dolce on Rousey’s previous diet
“She was already in amazing shape at that point, but not as healthy as she could be,” Dolce told FOX Sports. “I think she felt she wasn’t competing, training and performing at her optimal level. That’s why she brought me in. What she was doing at that point was more than enough to remain world champion, but she’s so focused and driven, she wants to make sure she’s doing everything perfect.”
Ironically, Dolce was one of the people that was somewhat critical of Rousey’s past diet plan, which allowed her only one meal a day. At the time, Dolce said it was unsustainable for an elite athlete to thrive on that kind of intake.
Seems he was right. Dolce said Rousey was not happy because not only was she heavier than she wanted to be in the early stages of camp, but she was also constantly sick, had injuries that were slow to heal, and felt an overall sense of lethargy.
“That kind of dietary program is common in bodybuilding and fitness, some of the cosmetic sports centers, but it certainly doesn’t work in combat sports,” he said. “There is such a high physical demand. What they need is a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. For Ronda, she’s only in her mid-20s, and she’s learning and finding what works for her, and she seems to be responding to this approach.”
Mike Dolce answers your questions!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
Mike Dolce answers your questions!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
Mike Dolce answers your questions!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include: Ketosis, When children should begin MMA training; 3 must-have’s for home gyms; Should I have carbohydrates before my workout, and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Gilbert Melendez, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more!
His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook. For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.
We welcome Justin Boyarski who tells us how he lost 175 lbs. using The Dolce Diet books 3 Weeks to Shredded & Living Lean! Plus, Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include Ronda Rousey; Why choose organic?; Dealing with negative people; Increasing cardio endurance; World MMA Awards, Where to find calcium besides milk, and more!
