Despite the short-notice nature, Mike Dolce thinks Jorge Masvidal should be able to make weight for UFC 251 with relative ease.
Masvidal got the call to face UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman this Saturday on just six days’ notice. According to Masvidal, he weighed 192 pounds on Saturday, which means he’d have to cut 22 pounds in less than a week. He’s also had to hop on multiple lengthy flights – first from Miami to Las Vegas on Sunday to get tested for COVID-19, then from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi for the fight.
But Dolce, a noted strength and conditioning coach who’s worked with plenty of high-level athletes, thinks Masvidal’s cut will come down to plenty of hydration and removing carbohydrates.
“Jorge is not a big guy for welterweight,” Dolce told MMA Junkie Radio. “He was a big lightweight. He’s not a big welterweight. Jorge is not coming down from 210 like some of these other welterweights, like we could say, Usman is coming down from. But with Jorge, we increase the water intake, that’s likely what he’s going to do. He’s going to start flushing his body, flood some of that water off, and he’s gonna drop the bread, drop the heavy carbs.
“Hopefully he doesn’t drop all the carbs and shut down his body, but he’s going to drop a lot of those heavy, complex carbohydrates, and his body is just gonna keep purging water. I’m sure they’re gonna throw some salads in him two, three, four days. They’re probably gonna get him working out, putting him to a hotbox and sweating the rest off.”
Dolce recalls when he helped Chael Sonnen cut 20 pounds in just 24 hours, likely referencing when Sonnen had to make the middleweight limit for his title fight rematch against Anderson Silva at UFC 148.
So if Sonnen was able to do it in a day, Dolce says Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) should have no issues doing it in six.
“I don’t see there being any problem with Masvidal losing 20 pounds in a week. I mean, that’s easy,” Dolce said. “Remember, once upon a time, Chael Sonnen lost 20 pounds in one single day when he and I were working together.”
Dolce actually thinks Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) will have a harder time making weight since he’s the bigger man, but he doesn’t doubt the champ will hit the limit.
“Usman, on the other hand, Usman’s big,” Dolce said. “Usman is just as big body-weight wise as Masvidal is. The story should be how is Kamaru Usman gonna make weight when Usman’s coming down from 190 plus in about a week or so. That’s gonna be interesting. But we know Usman. He’s gonna make weight, he’s gonna look like a million dollars when he steps on the scale, and he’s gonna be a much bigger man when he gets in the octagon than Masvidal is.”
Mike Dolce doesn't think Jorge Masvidal will struggle to cut 22 pounds in a week for UFC 251
