Hey guys, on vacation now but had to write about the amazing experience I had last week shadowing the UG's own Joe Lauzon during his weight cut for UFC 183. The story is a long one but has a ton of photos and video from Joe, his crew, and me, inside to break up the text.
So, if you're in the mood for a long Sunday read that will give you a behind the scenes look at cutting weight at one of the biggest weight cutting controversy events in recent memory, please give it a look see.
Thanks!
Let's start with the salt, because that's the first thing I failed with. I'd originally intended to shadow UFC lightweight star Joe Lauzon on the last day or two of his weight cut for his UFC 183 pay per view fight against Al Iaquinta, and try to do what he did â?? meaning not eat or drink much for twenty four to forty eight hours, while sweating out water weight in the sauna, tub and mats.
Joe liked the idea and offered me full access in Las Vegas, but also recommend that I up the ante, a bit. "You should try to do the whole thing," he told me over the phone this past fall.
"You should see what everything is like. Sweating out the last two days is just the end of the process. Do the whole diet and water plan as well. I'll give you my whole plan, it's actually not that complicated. Just try to do the whole thing, and if at any point you don't feel good, just stop."
If I were to follow the diet of any fighter on the UFC roster, Joe's was probably the easiest to mimic. Case in point, two weeks before UFC 183, I sat in a sub shop in Suburban Boston with Joe and one of his Lauzon MMA students, discussing his weight cutting plan over rib tips, fries and Greek salad (well, Joe had the salad, I had fries and onion rings to go with my ribs).
Joe doesn't diet, per se. This is in large part due to the fact that, unlike a surprising amount of pro fighters, he stays in the gym year-round.
Lauzon may not spar when he doesn't have fights coming up, but he's always grappling, always doing skill work, and sweating in the gym every day. As such, he never gets too heavy, or out of shape.
So, crash diets of extreme calorie reduction aren't necessary for him when training camp comes around. He eats pretty healthy during camp (other than indulging me in my fat boy lunch invitation), thanks to prepared meals from Sana Vida, so Joe doesn't have to worry about the occasional French fry.
Joe's plan to get to the light weight limit of 155/156 was indeed simple. I would learn that simplicity does not equal ease, however.
