Mike Dolce Talks Training With Vitor Belfort Leading Up To UFC 126 Main Event

 Mike Dolce is mixed martial arts premier nutritionist and that knowledge has led him to be the preeminent weigh cutting coach in the sport.

In the main event of UFC 126, number one middleweight contender Vitor Belfort will attempt to dethrone champion, Anderson Silva.

Belfort made his first official weight cut earlier this afternoon at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV and did so without a hitch.

“The Phenom” made a wise decision in bringing Dolce in to oversee this portion of his training and he was successful on his first try tipping the scales at 185 pounds.

Hours after the successful weigh-cut, Bleacher Report caught up with Dolce to talk all things related to his training with Belfort.

Question: What has the experience been like working with Vitor and what does it mean to you to work with such a high caliber athlete?

Mike Dolce: “I’m working with a legend and I’m fortunate to work with guys of that caliber. Vitor Belfort stands on his own now and it’s an honor that he selected me out of all the people on this planet into his camp to help him get ready for the UFC middleweight title fight. It’s an honor and a blessing to be apart of it. It’s been an amazing experience.”

Question: What does it mean to you to work with a respectful fighter like Vitor?

Mike Dolce: “The guys I work with are guys that I would invite into my house with my family and spend time with. The first conversation I had with Vitor was with his family and I was sold on the spot because before he’s anything else, he’s a family man. He truly is that and that came across in the first conversation we had and every conversation since then it’s grown even larger,” Dolce explained.

“As my career grows these are going to be the only guys that I work with. I have a different role than other coaches and all the coaches that I work with are phenomenal, but they get to go home to their families when they’re finished training. When they (the fighters) wake up I’m already in their kitchen, then we do road work, and we come home to eat, then we hang out so I don’t get to go home until after the fight is over. I don’t unplug, so the character of the athlete and the environment I put myself in is really a big deal at this point. I’m married and a family man at this point and to be with Vitor, we’re hanging out with his family and that’s really our training camp.”

“Guys like Ray Sefo and Jake Bonacci are phenomenal and never at one point has it felt like a training camp because Ray is bringing his kids over to play with Vitor’s kids and we’re having family barbecues so working with Vitor it has been a great experience on a personal and professional level.”

Question:  What do you want to see Vitor Belfort accomplish tomorrow night and how dangerous can he truly be?

Mike Dolce: “Really most of us, mainly the hardcore MMA fans know all about Vitor’s life and we know the ups and downs, highs and lows of his career. Vitors at a point now where he’s truly poised to dethrone Anderson Silva and reign supreme in this sport. Vitor’s a guy that can move up to 205, he can certainly stay at 185, and now working with me he could drop to 170, that’s not out of the realm. He’s a three division threat and his career is really coming full circle and getting to the pinnacle where he was when he had the belt," Dolce said.

"The guy that I’ve seen in the gym the past few months, he’s fully capable of taking Anderson out and the way Anderson has been acting during fight week with his antics, lack of professionalism, and trying to play head games with Vitor is the trait of an unconfident man. I want to see my friend go out there and have success and gain his title, move on with his career, help take better care his family and do all of those great things.”