Mike Dolce weighs in on Chael Sonnen’s weight cut and loss to Silva
Mike Dolce fought professionally for four years run with a record of 5 wins and 10 losses. However his greatest loss comes in the form of pounds and that is where he is most in demand on the fight circuit. Dolce is the designer of the Dolce Diet, an author of three books and famous for helping some of the top athletes in MMA get down to their desired weight come fight day.
One of his more high profile fighters is Chael Sonnen, who challenged Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title for the second time last weekend at UFC 148. One day prior to the weigh-ins for his bout with Silva, Sonnen stated in an interview that he was 20 pounds overweight. He made the cut thanks to Dolce. In an interview with MMAsucka.com the fighter turned nutritionist said: “It is not uncommon for my guys to be heavy leading into fight week because they are healthy. Other guys are starving, dramatically dehydrated, tired and week. We make it as easy as possible and what we say and do is common sense and logical. The fighter is able to cut the weight in a dynamic, safe and brief manner. Being ‘super-hydrated’ is very important and my fighters need to be fed to increase their core temperatures while exercising in order to perspire at a very high rate. While they’re exercising, by the pool or in the sauna they can sweat six to ten pounds of water in an hour.”
When asked what weight Sonnen was when he actually stepped into the Octagon with Silva, after making the weight, Dolce admitted that he did not step on the scales again, but he estimated him to be “208-212 at least””.
Despite his loss to Silva, Dolce has nothing but praise for him: “Chael is an amazing guy, an amazing athlete, a class act. I think every fighter on the planet could certainly learn from Chael Sonnen, he built the fight and he chose the fight against the baddest man on the planet, we all know that you don’t pick a fight with Anderson Silva unless you are crazy or you’re really talented and Chael is really talented. He went out there, he had prepared like a champion, he fought like a champion, he fought with pure heart and he lost to the better man in the cage on that night and afterwards the class he showed respecting Anderson and the Brazilian public, it was really special to be a part of that and witness Chael doing that and the example he set.”
After the fight, critics questioned everything from Silva grabbing Sonnen’s shorts, to smearing Vaseline on his torso, to even a possible illegal head kick. Dolce pointed out: “Well, the fans are the best judges on the planet, we’re all fans and we have our opinions and the majority of our opinions are correct, regardless of what you do it your life fans are pretty darn educated on this sport so if you look at the criteria and read the NSAC rules there were a lot of infractions you could say but that’s not what we’re focused on, we’re focused on the next fight moving forward. It’s a fight, punches, knees and kicks are thrown and sometimes it’s not thrown to the letter or the law, we know it and we get it but we’re moving forward with it and we want the next fight, we’re not looking back to that fight because they are gonna have to fight again, quite possibly or he’s gonna have to fight someone else, let’s move forward. That’s certainly Chael’s feeling, that’s my feeling.”
To hear the interview in its entirety:
