Tag: thiago alves

FIGHT MAGAZINE: ‘BEHIND THE FIGHT’ WITH MIKE DOLCE

by Terry E. Bush, Fight Magazine
Former power lifter and pro mixed martial artist Mike Dolce knows about making the cut. The author of Three Weeks to Shredded and The Dolce Diet: Living Lean has found a compelling niche in the MMA world—working with fighters to help them win the battle against the scale.
How did you get started helping fighters make weight?
We all eat and breathe and sleep every day, and I just happened to start paying attention to all these variables at a very early age. I’ve been collecting and applying this data my whole life, so it was a natural progression.
What is your job title?
My role is as a coach, which is really how I identify. I’m not just a lifestyle coach or a diet coach or a performance coach. I try to coach the whole system. I try to fill in the cracks where necessary. I’ve been an athlete. I’ve been a fighter. I’ve cut 40 pounds in a week. I know what it’s like. I’ve experienced fighting at a very high professional level. I’ve been a part of that as a teammate and a coach.
You’ve had more than 20 pro MMA fights, which speaks to your level of commitment to the sport. Does this add another layer of understanding that transfers to your clients?
I believe so. I hope so. I like to lead by example. I train when my athletes train. I train right beside my guys. When my athletes cut weight, I cut weight. We do the same things. We eat the same things.
You’re working with some of the top names in MMA—Chael Sonnen, Michael Bisping, Rampage Jackson, Thiago Alves, Vitor Belfort, Gray Maynard, Jake Ellenberger, and Johny Hendricks. Historically, some of those guys have had trouble making weight. What is the process like when a fighter calls to hire you?
It’s absolutely amazing when I get a phone call. I try to see what they need, and if it’s something I feel I’m capable of doing, we meet face to face. I spend some time with them just to see if we get along. I usually shadow them. I go through their day, I watch them eat their meals, and I look in their cabinets and their refrigerator. I go to work with them, I pick up their kids from school with them—it’s a day in their life. Then we’ll have a conversation about changes and adjustments and formulate plans.
Who has been a fighter who you’ve been really proud of with the end result of a transformation you were able to assist with?
Thiago Alves is really high on the list. And Vitor Belfort has a special story. He won the world title when he was 19 years old, and he’s now 35 years old. That’s 16 years of competing at a world-class level. That’s a long time to do that to your body and go through so many training camps and so many wars, so for him to bring me on after he missed weight against Rich Franklin was important for me. They brought me in to help him make 185 pounds, and his next cut was the easiest weight cut of his career. His wife cried and they called me their angel because they were all so nervous about him cutting weight because he’s a big guy and he’s already healthy. He lives on really clean and healthy food, and he and his family live that lifestyle, so for me to be able to come in and make that type of dramatic improvement was really great. I don’t work with an athlete for just one fight, I work with them for their career. I’m not going to leave them for a bigger payday or bigger limelight or any of that stuff. It’s a family. We plan years in advance. I have a seven-year plan with Thiago Alves. It’s a science that’s result-based and data-driven.
What’s on your horizon in the coming months?
I average being on the road six months out of the year. It’s a very erratic lifestyle, so I’m just sort of this floating soul who’s trying to share my knowledge. I keep going and I keep answering the call and the call keeps getting greater. It’s not just athletes—it’s corporations, too. I’m continuing the evolution—just to keep helping and spreading the positive energy and keep pushing that forward.
 
Article published in FIGHT! Magazine, September 2012

LISTEN HERE: Whole-foods advocate & elite Peak Performance coach Mike Dolce speaks with The MMA Show’s Mauro Ranallo about The Dolce Diet, weight cutting, and why his methods are so popular.

By Jonathan Shrager

Though he first landed on our radars as a competitor on TUF 7, fighter/trainer Mike Dolce has become much more famous for The Dolce Diet — the health and nutrition system he employs to help MMA stars hit their weight limits while retaining peak performance on fight-day. Fresh off his wizard-like guidance of Thiago Alves earlier this month, we decided to get the Living Lean author on the phone to find out exactly how he does it. Enjoy…

JONATHAN SHRAGER: Hi Mike, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. You are arguably the most renowned nutritionist in MMA nowadays.
MIKE DOLCE: Well, thank you. I prefer “performance coach” actually, but people often refer to me as a nutritionist because I’ve become synonymous with The Dolce Diet, so I understand why. I do quite a bit, including nutrition and Strength & Conditioning.
So who is the current crop of fighters that you’re working with?
Thiago Alves, of course, with whom I travelled to England. Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Jake Ellenberger, Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, and I started working with Jorge Masvidal in advance of his Strikeforce lightweight title fight with Gilbert Melendez. Jorge is a great guy and a super-talented athlete.
I recently interviewed Jorge, and he confessed his love of junk food including McDonald’s. Have you ever caught him attempting to eat any junk food behind your back? Is his love for McDonald’s difficult to contain?
Haha! No, Jorge is very committed to performing at the top of his potential. He is so dedicated to his craft, there is nothing to pull him off course. But he did admit his love of McDonald’s to me and we agreed that would be his victory celebration.
Post-fight, do you allow your fighters a little leeway to have a week off and eat what they want? Do you yourself ever celebrate with the fighters by eating some greasy or sugary foods?
Yes, I employ a principle of earned meals, a concept established to allow athletes or individuals to enjoy a meal that may not be consistent with their goals. For my athletes, I usually give them until Wednesday after the fight to ignore my phone calls before we start dialing their lifestyle back in. The great thing about guys or girls who follow The Dolce Diet, is that they lose the old cravings for junk and instead just look for larger portions of what we’ve been eating all camp. After a fight, I’ll usually indulge in a burger or slice of pizza with the team, but that’s usually because we don’t leave the venue until after midnight and our options are limited.
Following his fight with Frank Mir, Dana White suggested that Roy Nelson should try to make 205 lbs in an attempt to rejuvenate himself and his career. Roy subsequently claimed that this would require him to lose a limb, but now he says he’ll try to do it if he gets enough Facebook fans. Would you be the man to help Roy shed the belly?
Well, I don’t want to use Roy’s name specifically, but when I worked with Rampage, he began his training camp at 255 pounds, and he made 205 pretty easily. Quinton is shorter than Roy, and Roy, at his heaviest, weighs 260 pounds. So, if Rampage can achieve it, and he probably has more muscle, then I think it’s safe to predict that Roy could make 205.
And do you think that 205 would prove to be Roy’s optimal fighting weight?
I think that Roy looked great in his fight at heavyweight against Cro Cop. With that being said, I think he’s fine at heavyweight. What makes a guy like Roy so special is that he could fight in two different weight classes. If he doesn’t have to lose the weight then why should he? I’m a health advocate more than a performance coach, so being healthy is the most important thing.
After working with Quinton Jackson prior to the Rashad and Machida fights, you weren’t part of his coaching staff in the build up to Jon Jones. Are you and Quinton on good terms?
The schedule has really become a problem. I don’t leave guys that retain my services for somebody that may have a higher profile. I was booked before Quinton’s fight with Jonny Bones, and Quinton understands. He and I had a great conversation in which he told me that he knew this issue might arise because of my talent in the area of health, nutrition, and fitness. It’s not a bad problem to face, but unfortunately I’m not able to work with everybody for every camp. I have been booked solid for up to four months but I prefer not to commit to anything too much further in advance.
How does your role work logistically if you collaborate with multiple fighters? Do you focus solely on one fighter at a time during their training camps?
I do work with one athlete specifically, and then I’ll work with a couple athletes as close as I can. I was living with Thiago prior to his fight in the UK against Papy Abedi, but also Jake Ellenberger, Chael Sonnen, and Gray Maynard all fought during that timeframe. So, I would leave for their weight-cuts and the weigh-ins, to be present for the fighters at the last hurdle. But throughout the entire process I would consult with the fighters on multiple occasions every single day. Fighters text me their weight upon waking up, and how they’re feeling during the day, so it’s a hands-on process. I work with ten athletes consistently, but the one who books me first is the one I’ll physically be with throughout the training camp.
Is weigh-in day even more stressful for you than fight night?
For me it is. My job focuses on the health and peak performance of my athlete. The scale inevitably stands in the way of that main objective. We must fulfill the contractual obligation to weigh in at a predetermined weight — usually much lighter than the athlete normally walks around at — without doing any harm to their body, which would adversely affect performance. Once we get by the scale, everything else is a breeze.
What’s the most drastic cut that you’ve had to help a fighter achieve?
I helped Duane “BANG” Ludwig lose over 40 pounds in less than two weeks to take a short-notice fight against Jim Miller in January 2010. What made that cut even harder is that Duane fought in early December, went on vacation with his family and fully embraced the typical holiday menu. But, Duane is such a strong individual, it is doubtful any other athlete could have done that. I have had other guys lose nearly 60 pounds in less than eight weeks. Of course, health is always the most important factor and we strive to accomplish such goals in the healthiest manner possible.
I saw Mike Pyle eating a Nutella and banana sandwich on rye bread during one of his blogs, as recommended by “The Dolce Diet.” Are there any other foods which you recommend that people may be surprised by?
Most people are actually shocked when they read my book, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, because of all the recipes it contains that I use with my athletes. We have pasta, pancakes, omelets, fried chicken, and many other delicious meals. The difference lays in my selection of ingredients and the preparation techniques that turn garbage into gold. Anyone can eat boiled chicken breasts and steamed broccoli but my approach is to embrace the natural flavor of whole foods, which is why guys like Belfort, Alves, Rampage, Maynard, Ellenberger and many more of the sport’s elite chose to work with me. I add enjoyment to an otherwise Spartan existence.
Would you relish the challenge of working with fighters who are notorious for missing weight such as Paul Daley?
I don’t necessarily relish the challenge of “who can drop the most weight,” but instead embrace the duty to help these guys achieve their goals while maintaining a vibrant state of health. I am first and foremost a longevity advocate and my number one priority is to keep these guys healthy. In my view, the healthier an athlete is, the better the athlete will be able to perform. This is why I employ a whole-foods method combined with intelligent periodization and restorative methods to produce world-class performances. This, I believe, is the future of peak performance.
You work with a lot of Brazilian fighters, and Chael Sonnen. What are your Brazilian clients’ opinions on Chael and his recent remarks about their country? Is Chael as funny behind the scenes when you are working with him on a daily basis as he appears to be on camera?
Chael is a polarizing character, but most of the people I talk to love what he is doing for the sport. He creates excitement outside of the cage and certainly backs it up when he steps inside. Of course, some people don’t like a few of the things he says, but the general consensus is that he is hilarious. In my own experiences with him, Chael has a great sense of humor, a warm heart, and actually, a brilliant mind. I would put him on stage with Howard Stern, John Stewart, and Bill Maher, and have full confidence that Chael would talk circles around those guys.
Follow Mike Dolce on Twitter @TheDolceDiet, and pick up his book Living Lean on Amazon.com!

by Daniel Patinkin March 2, 2012
StudioMMA
STUDIOMMA, VENICE, CA — Nicknamed the “Patron Saint of Weight Cutting,” strength and conditioning coach Mike Dolce has successfully prepared numerous MMA stars for battle, among them Quinton “Rempage” Jackson, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort, Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Chael Sonnen, and Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves.
Tonight, Alves enters the UFC octagon against the always dangerous Martin “Hitman” Kampmann, in a scrap that could put one of the fighters within arm’s reach of a title shot. Yesterday, StudioMMA’s own Bobby Cavian had an opportunity to explore some interesting aspects of the sport with Dolce.
Dolce has spent the last six weeks working exclusively with The Pitbull, but the couple of months prior to that presented a revolving door of opportunity. Since December, he has conditioned Johnny Hendricks for UFC 141 in Vegas, Ludwig for UFC on FX in Nashville, and Sonnen for the UFC on Fox in Chicago. But the most controversial of his recent assignments culminated at UFC 142 in Brazil, for which Dolce prepped Belfort. There, for once, it was not the remarkable diet and shape of Dolce’s athlete that was in the spotlight, it was the poor condition of Belfort’s opponent Anthony Johnson. Johnson notoriously missed weight by eleven pounds, a debacle that Dolce discussed with Cavian.
“[Johnson’s] story was that his legs stopped working and he collapsed due to all these health issues when he was close to making the weight. That’s what almost happens to every athlete: when they reach their weight class during the weigh-in, they are not very healthy. Cutting weight is not healthy. I am the first one who said I wish that athletes did not cut weight. But they do. [Anthony Johnson missing weight] took the luster away from a spectacular fight between two great athletes… Vitor was very disappointed at Anthony’s lack of professionalism. But also, we were concerned that Johnson’s team was using this as a tactic to gain an advantage over Vitor: that they were not cutting weight properly and they were going to keep Anthony big, strong and healthy and gladly give away twenty percent of his purse in order to better his chances of being victories over Vitor Belfort, which would do much more for his career than money that he lost. So we were very concerned about that issue. But Vitor showed the heart of a champion by going out there and getting the first-round finish like he did.”
Generally, Dolce’s attitude toward cutting weight is openly negative.
“I am longevity advocate and a health advocate before anything else. So I always recommend doing whats healthiest for the athlete. In a perfect world the athlete would compete at his natural weight. I call it the ‘sweet weight.’ That’s when the athlete is three weeks before the fight. And that’s when he is in best condition… [The] athlete has trained hard for six to seven weeks and he is lean and ready to go. That’s the perfect weight. It is unfortunate that athletes continue to cut weight. And that’s typically not to gain an advantage anymore, but to reduce a disadvantage that the other athlete might gain by being twenty or thirty pounds heavier at the fight night.”
Dolce has a well-developed and specific diet strategy that he espouses for all of his athletes.
“[They should eat pimarily] earth-grown nutrients from real foods — foods that have sustained life on this planet since the dawn of time. That’s the secret… Stay away from any man-made chemicals, toxins, and preservatives, which are really just a money making scheme. So once we are eating earth-grown nutrients, then the body has everything it needs to function at its utmost capacity. That means that if the athlete is training properly he will reach his optimal level of lean mass. That means he is not carrying any excess weight. Once the athlete is in that position, then it’s mild dehydration through water restrictions and electrolyte manipulation that will shed the last few pounds.”
Dolce’s work with his fighters is very meticulous and detail oriented. Typically, during a training camp, he is ever-present, as he has been with Alves over the past six weeks.
“So, for this camp I moved into [Thiago’s] house and got a spare room. We live like roommates. I make the breakfast. Then we go the gym, train, and go home to eat. We relax, then eat again, and get back to the gym. So its a twenty-four hours a day, all the way up to the fight!”
But, as much as it is a science, weight-cutting is an art, and not always perfect. Thiago Alves, in particular, has repeatedly struggled to hit the right number on the scale. At his last weigh-in before a fight with Papi Abedi, he initially came in one pound heavy, an amount of weight that Alves was able to shed in time for a second weigh-in one hour later. Dolce thinks that MMA pundits did not respond fairly to this incident.
“People watch Nascar racing and they want to see car crashes. People watch NFL football to see the big hits, and people watch fighting to see the KO. People want to see the bad, the worse, and then point and say ‘look how bad that guy did!’ That’s unfortunate. Even today, when we did media, half of the questions were about Thiago’s weight! They are looking for the negative story; that’s what makes the headlines. In fact, one of the major websites, after the [Abedi] fight, put up on their headline that ‘Thiago Alves Misses Weight.’ That was their headline! From a journalistic standpoint, that was extremely unprofessional, because it was not accurate. Thiago made weight officially.”
For tonight’s UFC on FX, Alves came in a half-pound below the limit. So no problems there. Moreover, Dolce is confident that we will see a leaner, meaner Pitbull step into the cage. He discussed some of the details of how Alves did things right this time around.
“Thiago and I stay in touch year-round. I structure his workouts and send emails when I’m not there so that we are on the same page. I know exactly what he is eating and I speak with his coaches. They tell me about Thiago’s performance and training, so that when I get there a few weeks before the fight we don’t have to start the work from scratch. Once I’m with him, I troubleshoot if needed, and make sure he has everything he needs to unlock his full potential and perform. Six weeks ago Thiago was 197 pounds. He has dropped 27 pounds since then. … in this fight with Martin Kampmann, you will see what a true combat athlete looks like.
Thiago is not in this game for the money. He wants the world title. He wants to beat the best fighter in the world. That’s why we asked for Martin Kampmann, who is a very dangerous opponent. Thiago Alves is looking to make a statement with this fight. He wants to show the UFC and welterweight division exactly who Thiago Alves really is.”

WELTERWEIGHT THIAGO ALVES CREDITS MIKE DOLCE FOR WINNING FORMULA

By Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press | Associated Press
Thiago (Pitbull) Alves has always known his way around a cage.
Now the American-based Brazilian welterweight is showing he knows what to do in the kitchen.
Alves, who has a history of having difficulty making weight, credits former fighter Mike Dolce’s nutrition — and strength and conditioning — program for the turnaround.

“Dolce has definitely changed my life, my career,” he said. “I’ve been working with him for over a year now. … I feel much better, I walk around much lighter. I pack a lot more muscle and less fat than the way I used to.
And my energy level is through the roof.”

Alves (24-7) will look to show off his diet when he makes weight for Friday’s televised main event against Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann (18-5) in Sydney, Australia.
It’s the second straight overseas fight for the Florida-based Alves, who submitted Papy Abedi in the first round of UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, last November.
“I don’t mind it, I love it,” said the gregarious Alves. “It’s just a little bit of hassle, the travel, but whatever it takes.”
Alves missed making the 171-pound welterweight limit at UFC 85 and 117 and needed to make a second try to do it at UFC 138 (Dolce blamed it on a miscalibrated scale).
Alves also tested positive for a diuretic after UFC 66 in 2006 and was suspended eight months and fined $5,500 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission
A musclebound five foot nine, Alves says nutrition used to be a mystery to him.
“I didn’t know how to eat at all,” he said. “I was just eating calories pretty much.
“Growing up in Brazil, the regular family in Brazil eats rice and beans and pasta every day on the same plate with chicken and steak and eggs. That’s what my lunch and dinner used to be pretty much.”
The 28-year-old Alves also started fighting at a young age, making his pro debut in Brazil in 2001. Back then, weight wasn’t much of an issue — even if his parents ran a bakery.
“I started having weight issues since I moved (to the U.S.),” he said.
He was walking around at 182 pounds back then.

“But the wrong training, the wrong nutrition, that got me to a really bad spot in my career. That’s in the past now. Now that I’ve been working with Dolce, life’s much, much better now.”

Before hooking up with Dolce, Alves says he would weigh as much as 210 when he started training camp. These days it’s between 190 and 195, although he can go as high as 200 “if I don’t do anything for a week.”
Alves predicts an exciting if brief fight at the Allphones Arena on Friday (Saturday local time in Australia).
“I think it’s going to be a very fan-friendly fight,” said Alves. “But I’m determined, I’m ready to not make it last too long.”
Alves knows that opportunities are there for the taking in the 170 pound division with champion Georges St-Pierre injured and interim title-holder Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit perhaps needing an opponent before he faces a healthy GSP.
“I’m not looking ahead at all, but I definitely think after this fight I’ll be at the top of the weight class again. So it’s just moving on to whoever takes me closest to fulfil my dream which is fight for the belt again.”
Alves tried to take the title from St-Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009 but the champion from Montreal had too many weapons, blunting the Brazilian’s Muay Thai attack by taking him down 10 times in the five-round fight.
Alves has gone 2-2 since then, losing to Jon Fitch and Rick Story while beating John Howard and Abedi. But he also had to survive a nasty health scare, needing surgery to separate an artery from a vein in a brain abnormality that turned up in a pre-fight scan.
He was also slowed by a knee injury.
“I’ve definitely been through a lot of things,” he said. “But I don’t regret anything. I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I’m just more mature. And I’m still very, very young.”
He also has an impressive record, having won nine of his last 12 fights, and 12 of his last 15.
Alves, who said he took Story too lightly at UFC 130, looked razor-sharp last time against Abedi.
With a few career bumps under his belt, Alves says he is determined to make the most of his opportunities.
“I’ve got the winning formula,” Alves said. “Now I’m just to going to take that winning formula and apply it to Martin Kampmann.”
“I know it’s just a matter of time for me to become a world champion,” he added. “Especially with what’s going on at this weight class.”
Article originally posted on Yahoo! Sports here

PHOTO: Thiago Alves talks with reporters at the UFC open workouts in Sydney, Australia. Alves fights Martin Kampmann in a main event, welterweight bout March 3 at Allphones Arena.
(Airs March 2 on FX in the US)

Take an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look as Thiago sharpens up his tools with coach, Katel Kubis, as the Pitbull prepares to take on Martin Kampmann in the main event of UFC on FX2 in Sydney, Australia.

Take a look as Thiago “Pitbull” Alves pushes his mind and body past the point of breaking during a Dolce-structured, ultra-fastpaced endurance run in preparation for his March 3rd main-event bout with Martin Kampmann in Sydney, Australia for UFC on FX2.

Posted by David Herbert February 14, 2012
BuddhaSport.com

When you think of dangerous strikers in the UFC’s welterweight division, the first two guys that come to your mind will most likely be Thiago Alves (19-8-0) and Martin Kampmann (18-5-0). For those of you who find this to be a valid statement, you have probably thought about these two duking it out in the Octagon at some point. The two welterweight titans will meet this March in Australia at UFC on FX 2, giving many fans a fight they not only wanted but will probably remember their entire lives.
The last several years have been rough for both fighters. Kampmann has had a temultuous relationship with the judges, losing two straight decisions to Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez that were controversial to say the least. Against Sanchez, the Danish striker did more damage to Diego’s face than the tsunami did to Japan but the judges somehow saw it. The Xtreme Couture disciple has since bounced back with a dominating decision win over the last man to defeat Alves in Rick Story and also feels he learned a valuable lesson in his TKO loss to Paul Daley that will help in against the similar striker in Alves as Kampmann explains in an interview I did with him last week. On the other hand, Thiago has won two fights in his last five since his challenge to GSP’s title. All of which saw the judges cards except his last…a picture perfect rear-naked choke that came as a result of the Brazilian stunning his opponent; Sweden’s Papy Abedi, with strikes then going on to finish him on the ground. Needless to say, this last several years of ups and downs has molded a special mentality to the minds of both men and that mentality is to finish every fight no matter what.
It is unclear where the winner of this fight will find himself in the division. With fights like Hendricks/Koscheck on the horizon and Ellenberger/Sanchez tonight, it is difficult to guage how the division’s title picture will come together over the next six months. Should Brian Ebersole win his next fight, whoever it may be, he will also be among the top of the division. Alves knows he needs a win to get back in the mix and being one of the worlds best strikers, he couldn’t be happier to be a facing another technical and sound striker in Kampmann. As for the ground play, Kampmann may have a slight edge but Alves has really focused on improving his wrestling and submissions, which he quickly proved in his last victory. The key to the rounding out of his skills is the method of his amazing team at American Top Team in which gym owner and fighter manager Dan Lambert brings in and houses elite wrestlers, strikers and BJJ fighters to work with the team on improving their weaknesses.

Since Thiago’s brilliant move to bring top notch nutritionist and fellow fighter Mike Dolce in to assist him with his dieting and weight cutting, he has not only made weight every time but changed his whole overall performance at 170-pounds.

Since the win over Abedi at UFC 138, Alves has appointed Dolce to do his strength and conditioning as well and feels this has given him a new edge that he was fighting without prior to his partnership with the founder of the infamous Dolce Diet. Alves caught wind of the possible matchup with Kampmann soon after his last victory and has been preparing hard with Dolce and the rest of ATT family ever since. Australian fans lucky enough to have tickets to this fight will get to see the 2.0 versions of The Hitman and Pitbull live.
Dave Herbert: Are you excited to be fighting a high caliber striker like Kampmann?
Thiago Alves: I have had alot of really high profile fights in the UFC but I don’ think I’ve ever fought such a tough striker, besides maybe Chris Lytle, who is nowhere near as technical as Kampmann. I fight much, much better against technical guys. I know its going to be a hard, fast paced fight and I’m ready to go hard for 15 minutes. I have never been knocked out and I plan to keep it that way. Mike Dolce has me in great shape and not just him but all my coaches at ATT. I love my gym and I have a great thing going on. We are working hard to make me a world champion but first things first I have to get through Kampmann. I think we are going to put on a great show in Australia, a place I have never been before.
Dave Herbert: What do you think of this matchup? Is Kampmann a fight you have thought about in the past?
Thiago Alves: I’m really excited. I’ve been training really hard for a long time now; since right after my fight with Papy. I love this fight. As soon as I heard about it, I talked to Dolce and we decided to start preparing for it ahead of time. I have a good feeling about this fight and I know its a good matchup for the fans and I think we matchup very well. I’m going to finish him. All the respect to Martin, I think he’s a great fighter but its my time; I’m going to bring the pressure and I’m gonna break him. I have watched all his fights and studied him and he is a very skilled striker but he doesn’t like to get hit and I’m definitely going to hit him.
Dave Herbert: His wrestling and submissions has improved greatly since he started training at Xtreme Couture. Are you willing to hit the mat with him or do you plan to use your takedown defense to keep the fight standing and test his chin?
Thiago Alves: I’m definitely going to test his chin and I’m definitely going to try and finish him. If I have the opportunity to take him down, I’m going to go for it but I will be happy to keep this fight standing. You know me, I love to strike but I’m ready to fight anywhere. I know he’s improved alot training at Xtreme Couture but that won’t stop me from imposing my will and winning this fight. We also have a program now at ATT where we are bringing in all these top notch wrestlers and providing them with housing. These guys are all studs straight out of college and are making a transition to MMA. I have my flaws with wrestlers but I am getting better and better and now I feel very comfortable in that area and as far the jiu-jitsu game I don’t think he’s going to throw anything at me that I haven’t already seen. I know Kampmann is very well rounded but I’m ready.
Dave Herbert: The credit for bringing in these elite wrestlers and fighters goes to ATT owner Dan Lambert correct?
Thiago Alves: Yeah, Dan Lambert is really changing the game and taking sport to new levels. Housing is something he was doing before and then he stopped and we went through a transitional phase where we lost some guys. It felt like there was something missing in the camp but now Dan is doing it again; bringing in top guys in all different styles to strengthen weaknesses and round out the fighters in the gym. The way Lambert runs ATT is beautiful. He charges 5% for training and management and that’s it. We are trying to grow even more and get the best fighters from all over.
Dave Herbert: The UFC has been to Brazil twice now but the timing was not right for you to be on the card. Are you hoping to get on the next card they do in Brazil?
Thiago Alves: I would love to but I don’t think I will get to be on the next one. It’s 14 weeks away and I have a feeling this fight is going to be a war bro.I mean you never know, money talks so if the UFC wants me on the card I will be ready. I definitely want to fight in Brazil this year regardless. I want to fight 3 times this year, hopefully again in June and then again before the end of the year so maybe it will work out so that I can be on a Brazil card.
Dave Herbert: What was your take on the Diaz/Condit fight?
Thiago Alves: When I saw it at first I was thinking Diaz because he pushed the pace and he ended the fight with a takedown and getting Condit’s back but then I see all the reviews and statistics that show Condit landed more strikes and basically outstruck him. None of it maters now though. Condit has the belt and that’s how it is and now he is a target for me.
Dave Herbert: What fight for you in the division intrigues you the most?
Thiago Alves: There’s alot of otions right now and welterweight is one of the deepest divisions right. If I go through Kampmann, my next fight could be anyone from the winner of Ellenberger/Sanchez to Brian Ebersole or even the winner of Koscheck/Hendricks. I would love to fight any one of them. Of course I would love to fight Diaz but that is out the window at least for now.
Dave Herbert: Say the UFC offered a decorated wrestler like Johny Hendricks. Would there be any hesitation in accepting the fight?
Thiago Alves: None. Hendricks would be a great matchup for me. He’s a great wrestler but this is not a wrestling match. This is MMA and everything changes once you get punched in the face. Also my current coach used to be Johny’s coach so that is a plus. Bring any wrestler because I’m ready.
Dave Herbert: Now that you have been working with Dolce steadily for a while, do you have your diet and weight cutting down to a science?
Thiago Alves: The first time I was like ‘I can’t believe this is going to work.’ The 2nd time I will still unsure but it was the last I knew no matter what if I stick ot this diet I’m going to make weight every time and be ready for war the next day. I have been competing in the UFC up until my last few fights with maybe 60% of my abilities. With Rick Story I will say I made a mistake…when I wanted to go to war it was too late. Dolce isn’t just doing my dieting but my strength and conditioning as well and has been since my last fight with Papy. Before Mike I used to blow up to like 205. Now I don’t go above 185 unless I do nothing and even then I don’t get above 200. I get lighter and lighter every training camp and now it like I can do it in my sleep. I’m very excited to see how it works out against a much better, more experienced fighter like Kampmann.
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