UFC 123: Quinton Jackson's Trainer Believes Lyoto Machida Will Be an Easy Win

Former UFC light heavyweight champion and action star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8) is scheduled to meet former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida this Saturday night in the main event for UFC 122.

“Rampage” will look to get back on track after losing to former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and get himself back in the light heavyweight elite with a win over Machida.

Speaking on behalf of Rampage is his long-time strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist Mike Dolce. 

Dolce disclosed with Bleacher Report’s Andrew Gladstone the relationship Rampage and Dana White have now, the bad blood between Rampage and Rashad, and Rampage’s focus on getting back in the grind in the light heavyweight division. 

How has Rampage’s training been going?

"It’s going really well actually.  He started this camp 12 weeks ago, which is a first for him to actually pursue a twelve-week training camp as opposed to his normal eight-week camp.  He wanted to get in shape before the actual hard part of training began so it’s been going pretty well."

I remember back in May Rampage posted a video of the Dolce Diet, where he lost 45lbs in eight weeks.  What is the Dolce Diet exactly?  And how did Rampage lose that amount of weight and still feel in great shape?

"My diet, the Dolce Diet has basically been an evolution.   Over the last 10 years or so I’ve been specifically working MMA.  Everyday I actually add to it. The principles are pretty sound though I focus on are longevity.  I look at my athlete and my clients and say how can we have this individual correct their health issues based on their medical background and ethnicity and all sorts of other things live as long as humanly possible, which to me is 120 years old.  I believe we have the science to do that.

"So when I approach these athletes like a guy like Quinton, I look at the past history, what he’s been doing in his life.  Which really wasn’t the healthiest thing.  I build that game plan moving forward to correct a lot of those issues, from his digestive system and just all sorts of different things.  And what I found was the immediate short-term benefit of looking at the long term was athletic enhancement as we say, which is lean body mass ratios and increased ligament tendant strength, muscular energy output and all those different things. In a nutshell the Dolce diet is whole foods.  Basically one of my favorites ‘if it wasn’t around 200 years ago you shouldn’t be eating it today.’  I incorporate that into my athletes every day lives.

"So I look at what we have to do.  Quinton for the Rashad fight, he was 251lbs eight weeks before the weigh-in.  Forty-five pounds is enormous.  My system of your nutrient addition and restriction were able to pull off the excess fat and weight and just all the different issues that he had and speed up his metabolism and actually build muscle mass strength.  He was able to weigh in at 205 and then compete the next night and he was actually in really good shape.  He was fighting a super tough guy with a great game plan.  Cardio didn’t play a factor; the timing was a little bit off from a huge lay-off. 

"It really did show what can be done through healthy eating without drugs with very minimal supplements.  It was the miracle of food we showed in that performance."

Are there things you can do for your health when you are bouncing up and down in weight?

"That’s a great question actually and the answer is cutting so much weight and exploding back up is not ideal health.  What I work with these athletes is that I try to minimize the detriment to their health and to their system.  I believe my methods are able to best assist them in a successful weight reduction weigh-in rehydration fight night performance, but also to minimize some of those long-term issues that a lot of other athletes develop.  Like kidney issues, urinary issues, problem expelling fluids from their body or excess water retention, cardiac issues, it does create extreme insulin sensitivity when they go on these crazy diets.

"I think my system minimizes a lot of those negative issues, but at the same time it’s not healthy.  What these athletes do, what we do is not a best-case scenario.  So I try and minimize and make it as safe as possible knowing it’s an unsafe practice, I mean let’s be honest."

How much has Rampage had to cut down from in this fight?

"For this fight he started right at about 240lbs, which was excellent.  He’s a big, strong, muscular guy.  He’s a few pounds heavier than I’d prefer him to be, but he wasn’t out of shape by any stretch of the imagination at 240.  Right now we’re keeping his weight at the higher or mid 220’s, right now he’s walking at about 226, we’re in 20lbs of the weigh ins and that’s five days away." 

I was wondering what kind of strength and conditioning drills did you have Rampage do for his upcoming fight?

"This is the first time Quinton pursued weight lifting.  And in past camps it was very hard to get him to lift weights, and he didn’t want to lift weights, and that was based on a past misconception.  One of his coaches told him years ago, ‘you can’t lift weights because you’ll be too big for your weight class.’  And that was just pure ignorance on that coach’s statement at that time.

"Weight lifting, strength training can be done in all sorts of ways to build muscle, to lose muscle, to increase energy systems, and correct muscular imbalances.  You’ll see a bigger, more muscular Rampage than you’ve ever seen before because of the addition in his strength training and you’ll also see a more mobile Rampage in this fight where he has a greater range of motion in his joints.  He has much less strength imbalances than he had in previous fights.  He’s such a strong guy in certain areas and by contrast. 

"What I was really able to do, I was able to focus on those weaker muscles and build them up so they can balance out and support the much more powerful explosive muscles.  So you’re going to see a very strong, very tenacious, very explosive, mobile, and highly conditioned because of that."

Rampage has definitely had little bit of a falling out with Dana White in the past with the UFC.  How is Rampage’s relationship with Dana White these days?

"Their relationship is great.  I see Quinton every day around the house and he talks to his managers and such.  I don’t think it wasn’t so much Quinton vs. Dana, I think it was the business of the sport and the grind.  I mean Quinton has 40 professional fights and he’s been fighting professionally for over 10 years and he’s at that stage in his career that it’s weighing heavy on him, he’s kind of tired of going through the same process over and over again. 

"The Hollywood bugs were calling him, to pull their Hollywood ploys to drag him away from the sport of MMA.  I think Quinton was kind of caught in the middle, not so much from Dana, but the sport of MMA and the outside world of movies and entertainment.  Quinton loves Dana; Dana has always done very well by Quinton.  It’s nothing personal between the two of them; it’s more of just the business that seems to be the issue.

"Quinton is caught in between, he’s successful in both worlds now, but we all know you have to choose one or the other to be a great success."

Rampage has said in the past he does not want to become champion again.  However, if he defeats Machida he could very well put himself in line for a title shot.  What’s your take on this?

"We’ve had this conversation and I know he does go through that a little bit.  What I do think what that means and what that interpretation is that the title isn’t the epitome of success.  He’s already held the UFC title; he’s held the Pride title (he won that from Dan).  He’s been the only undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world.  With that he’s already been at the very top of the mountain. 

"So having the title isn’t a primary motivator for him, not as much as putting on those exciting fights.  Of course he’d love to avenge his loss to Rashad, if it were for a title even better.  He would really love to go back and avenge his loss to Shogun.  The title would be secondary to both of those fights and both of those victories.  If he could kill both birds with one stone that would just be perfect, that would be the dream match up.

"I know he still wants to fight Forrest.  So I think he would take a three-round fight with Forrest, a super fight, instead of a five-round fight with whoever else has the title over the next few months or so.  The title is definitely on the list, it’s not number one on the list, putting on exciting fights, that’s what he wants to leave in his legacy, he wants to be the most exciting fighter in the sport and put on the most exciting fights."

I was wondering what weighed heavier on Rampage’s mind, the devastating loss to Shogun, or was it the Rashad fight because there was so much trash talk?

"He’s got such a strong mind that he’s over both.  Shogun beat him on that day and that’s the great thing about Quinton.  He understands, he gives men credit where it’s due, Shogun beat him and Rashad beat him, he has no ill will or animosity towards those guys.

"The trash talk, there’s a little bit of truth to it, but it also sells and hypes the fight.  I mean him and Rashad aren’t going out for a slice of pizza anytime soon.  He doesn’t really have an issue with either guy, anybody he’s fought he wants to avenge and wipe that off his record.  There’s no bigger issue with either guy, but mentally he’s got no problem with that, he’s just looking for his chance to go out there and give it another shot."

In a recent conference call, Rampage said he lost the fight against Evans before he even entered the octagon.  I know that there are personal matters he hasn’t wanted to disclose, but did he seem distracted at all in this camp before? 

"You know he wasn’t distracted as much as people think.  There was a lot of behind the scenes mangling and posturing, and all sorts of hooks into the guy.  He had all the pressure of fighting Rashad plus the build up of what he and Rashad had, the smack talk back and forth, and he handled it extremely well.  He probably handled it better than anybody else could have.

"So the mental side he was really strong, it was just the physical things that came into play and it was from that huge lay-off.  No athlete can take a 14-month lay-off and come back to a training camp at a world-class level and not expect to have some issues and hit some roadblocks along the way.  No excuse, Quinton’s not making an excuse, nobody from our camp is making an excuse.  Rashad fought a great fight, he won a great fight and it was just a learning lesson for Quinton and for us as a better way to get prepared and a better way to stay prepared for these future fights."

What kind of sparring partners were brought in to emulate Machida’s style?

"We were really lucky; we had a great camp, great guys.  I can’t name names just yet unfortunately, but pretty soon I think Quinton is going to personally thank these guys through his own avenues.  We had guys that would come in and mimic Machida.  We had Strikeforce guys, we had UFC guys, we had K-1 guys, we had black belts, we had All-American wrestlers, we had any athlete in any area that had a skill, in any area even if they weren’t well rounded, they were coming in.  Quinton was constantly surrounded by high-level athletes in one-way shape or form." 

With how hard Machida usually is to time and hit, do you think we could see any vintage Rampage slams in this fight against Machida?

"Absolutely, Quinton has been waiting to get his hands on somebody to slam them through the canvas.  We’ve been training that specifically, I mean we were training in the Rashad camps and some other camps it’s just a matter of the athlete and the opponent making the mistake to let Quinton to go in there and slam him.  Rashad being such a phenomenal wrestler, he wasn’t going to let that happen, Rashad has been in those positions before.  

"Machida, on the other hand, I don’t think he’s going to be ready for what Quinton has to offer.  It certainly could be a slam, it could be a Rampage kick that you don’t see to often, we all know about his devastating boxing, maybe Quinton goes and submits him.  In this camp, we really did focus on Quinton being a well-rounded, highly conditioned, explosive and healthy athlete. 

"I’m hoping to see a slam right there in the center of the canvas, a knock out slam a la Ricardo Arona that would be a picture perfect ending of this fight for me and for the fans around the world.  But certainly, Quinton’s ready to pick this guy up and slam him right through the canvas."

Rampage has said how Machida is a boring fighter.   I was wondering what you had to say on this.

"The term boring is used very loosely; I think it’s a little extreme.  I enjoy watching Machida fight. I respect what he does.  I’m just a fight fan, whether it’s boxing, kickboxing or MMA.  I think what Quinton’s saying by boring is that he’s elusive, Machida just doesn’t like to engage often, he likes to keep athletes outside of their range, which is right inside of Machida’s range, and he likes to pick them a part and look for his openings.

"I could certainly say Machida is a finisher.  He goes out there and he finishes guys, I mean look at what he did to Thiago Silva, to Rashad Evans, and to Thierry Sokoudjou, those are some tough guys that he goes out there and he finishes.  He’s extremely dangerous, but he molds the athlete and puts his opponent to sleep a little bit with that kind of stay on the outside and with that point karate style before he finally seizes that opening and exploits it. 

"So with Quinton and part of his training camp, he was talking about how it was frustrating, because Quinton wants to be in your face just like he was with Dan Henderson and just like he was with Chuck.  The fact he is most of the time even with Forrest, those guys were in each other’s face the whole time.  Those are the fights that Rampage likes and those are the fights he’s best at.  With that being said, we’ve really trained very hard to keep those best parts of Rampage still in his fight game but also for him to be prepared to deal with a guy like Machida which is a more elusive, laid back, point fighting style and that doesn’t want to be engage and stays safe. 

"Quinton is not a safe fighter, he always tries to throw safety into the wind and he goes in there and slugs it out, which is why so many fans love him.  That’s what he really wants to do, is be entertaining. 

"Quinton, he respects the hell out of Machida he’s a world champion.  That doesn’t happen to shmucks.  Machida is a great athlete, we all respect that fact."

Since Machida recently lost to Shogun by knockout, does Quinton feel like Machida’s game has been exploited enough, where he could do the same?

"Absolutely, anytime you see a guy get knocked out you pretty much look at the way it happened.  Lance Gibson, he’s a mastermind actually, he’s been picking Machida for a while, for multiple fights, he’s got a multiple collection, fights I didn’t even know existed Lance has it all on DVD and has broken Machida down. 

"This is going to be an easy fight actually from Lance’s perspective.  The first day of camp, that’s what Lance said, this is going to be an easy fight because we’re going to do x, y, and z.  And that’s really what’s been the focus, x, y, and z and of course a few little hybrid options from there in case it doesn’t go quite as expected. 

"The fact that Machida got knocked out in his last fight I think will weigh heavily on his mind, especially fighting such a dominant knock out artist like Quinton.  Shogun is a tough guy, an explosive guy, a powerful guy; I don’t think anyone in the light heavyweight division has Quinton’s knock out power."

Do you have anything else to say in closing?

I just really want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me and bring me in.  I’m super excited for UFC 123 and see Rampage go out there and do his thing against Machida.  I’m a huge fan of this sport and I’m just lucky to have a job within the industry that I can take care of my family and help the athletes achieve their goal, but I am a fan also just like everyone else reading this.  I’m just happy to be here.

For anyone interested in the Dolce Diet please go to www.thedolcediet.com.