UFC 193 headliner Ronda Rousey has help in her corner in making weight

Ronda Rousey

MELBOURNE, Australia — When Ronda Rousey was a world class judo fighter, making weight for competition was a torturous process, involving starvation, suffering and, on one occasion, running through a crime-ridden Brazilian neighborhood in a plastic jumpsuit to shed a few precious ounces.

Not any more. As she prepares for her latest appearance as the highest-profile star in mixed martial arts at UFC 193 this weekend, Rousey’s camp is run with military precision in a bid to gain an edge.

The fine-tuning is at its most apparent when it comes to diet, with Rousey having flown her personal nutritionist Mike Dolce to Australia ahead of her battle with former world boxing champion Holly Holm at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

“I am much more spoiled now I guess,” Rousey said. “I think it has become more customized to me and my needs. Now it has got to the point where we have the Ronda machine going.”

The “machine” involves coaches and training partners in a variety of combat disciplines, but all the hours of work in the gym will count for nothing if Rousey is unable to make the 135-pound weight limit needed to be able to defend her UFC women’s bantamweight belt.

It has also, even since she started working with him in the build-up to her UFC 168 victory over Miesha Tate, involved Dolce preparing specific meal plans with intricate detail.

“It is all mapped out,” Rousey said. “There is a thought process behind everything, every bit of food, every ingredient, the timing of it and the different kind of nutrients. It is one less thing I have to worry about — and any fighter will tell you it is a huge thing.”

Back in the United States, the responsibility of shopping for the food Rousey needs to adhere to Dolce’s plan, and preparing it so it is ready to cook, often falls on her roommate, fellow mixed martial artist Marina Shafir.

Dolce sends precise details of what food items are required, in specific quantities, to be eaten at certain times of day. His menus prefer simple carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables, with snacks that are high on modern superfoods such and chia and hemp seeds.

In Australia, all meals have been prepared in the suite Rousey occupies in a luxury Melbourne hotel and are designed to ensure she never feels overly hungry or experiences lapses in energy.

“Ronda was malnourished when she came to us,” Dolce said. “The way she was going about things was not very healthy. We made some adjustments and she has never complained about a single thing.”

While in Australia, Dolce has adhered to the same diet, in order to build camaraderie, while members of her team refrain from eating unhealthy foods in her presence.

Rousey has also had to alter her preparations because the 13-hour time different between Melbourne and Los Angeles. The bout will take place in the early afternoon on Sunday local time to correspond with the optimum Saturday night time slot in the U.S.

That means an early start on Saturday for the weigh-in, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. local time. Dolce has therefore planned to get Rousey right at the 135-pound limit before she sleeps the night before, so that she can wake up and head to Etihad Stadium without the stress of needing to cut further.

Rousey typically walks around at a weight just above 150 pounds, and gets underneath the fighting limit by reducing fluid intake in the final few days before she must officially tip the scales.

Rousey is an overwhelming favorite for the contest, but Holm’s punching power and experience pose a different challenge to many of the champion’s former opponents.

However, the 28-year-old’s confidence showed no sign of being shaken at a public workout this week.

“I work harder than (Holm) does and I want it more than she does,” Rousey said. “That’s it. There is no grand secret to success. I am willing to die in there and she is not and I work 10 times harder than she thinks is the hardest.”

For more on UFC 193, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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