UFC fight night 47 and UFC Dublin catch up

I've just arrived in Bangor, Maine (don't worry I had to Google where it was too when I first heard it) and I'm slightly weary from the two flights and long connection it took to get me here. However the excitement of fight week, the magnitude of this fight and the three coffees I've had today are keeping me positive and excited about being here.

It seems like only a couple of weeks ago we were in Alberqurque being handed a somewhat controversial decision at the hands of the Alberqurque athletic commission. But since then I've traveled to New Zealand with Jamie Tehuna (full article to come rather than a blog to give justice to the magnitude and power of the experience) and to Dublin, Ireland with Norman Parke.

Dublin was a fantastic experience. I arrived on the Friday just before the weigh in. Norman had been lighter this whole camp and hadn't needed the hands on help with the weight cut so I just remotely advised and consulted and supervised the rehydration and refuelling. 

I very often find that fighters make the mistake of thinking their job is done once they have weighed in but I believe that the most important part of the weight cut is the point from the weigh in to the fight. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of times I've seen guys stuffing their face straight off the scales or drink fizzy drinks or eat junk food to refuel thinking that their job is done, the job isn't done until your hand is raised in victory. Why would a fighter go through all the trouble of dieting and cutting weight to gain a performance advantage to throw it all away by filling themselves full of processed, low nutrient food? 

The same philosophy applied during camp of fuelling your body with nutrient dense, earth grown foods should be applied after the weigh in and with even more diligence. 

During fight week the fighters calorie intake is reduced and the body is craving to replenish its nutrient stores so feeding it with only the best nutrients is vital to allow the body to recover from the weigh in and put the body, mind and soul in a state to perform.

The weigh ins were one of the most high energy and well attended I've ever been to. The venue was 3/4 full with eager fans and the anticipation of seeing Dublin's golden boy Mcgregor was almost too much. All the local fighters were met with rapturous cheers and applause but nothing compared to the reception Mcgregor received. The face off between Mcgregor and Brandao was heated and the fans loved every second of it. Emotions continued to run high back stage and insults and fighting words were exchanged. The anticipation of the fight was heightened by the weigh in and I knew that it was going to be a special show.

Normans cut went really well and we had a nice relaxed meal a couple of hours after the weigh in. The priority immediately after the weigh in is rehydration and trying to eat a large meal too soon can have disastrous effects on the fighters digestion and leave them bloated, uncomfortable and unable to adequately refuel. 

The Irish fans were amazing and that evening the hotel was busy with all the people associated with the UFC. Judges, refs, fighters, managers, reporters and fans were all rubbing shoulders and the atmosphere was great.

I think the Irish fans are some of the most passionate and knowledgable in the world. This was the first time in 5 years that the UFC had been to Ireland and they were acting like they hadn't eaten for 5 years and this was their first meal. 

Dan Hardy was also there and it was nice to catch up with him as with both our busy schedules and me living in Windsor now we don't get to hang out as much as we'd like. Dan and John Gooden have been doing a great job with the commentating and it's been great to see Dan transition so effortlessly into his new role. I would however still like to see him compete in the octagon again and I'm confident he will in the not to distant future.

In the morning of fight day Norman did a light workout but before that Ross Pearson did a good session as he was in town and needed to train. Ross was there to watch the fights and support his fiancé Kristie Mckeon who's the UFC's ring girl.

 It was one of the rare opportunities that Coach Eric Del Fierro and I get to coach Ross together other than around fight week. We worked on some technical pads,not focused around any particular opponent then did some positional work on the ground and then we rolled for a few rounds. It was great timing as Ross's fight against Able Truijio had just been announced so we were able to plan out the camp structure face to face rather than by email and Skype. Ross had kept in shape since the Sanchez fight and was injury free and ready to go. It made planning the camp much easier.

Norman did a light technical session with his head coach Rodney Moore and coach Eric I gave small bits of advice and reaffirmed the game plan. It had been a few fights since Norman and I had worked together and it was obvious to see how much he had progressed and improved in that time.

Norman has a great fighting brain and attitude to training, he has great self belief and had a lot of confidence going into this fight. I was excited about watching him perform.

The venue was literally a stones throw from the hotel but we still got a coach to it to avoid the fans at the venue. The warm up rooms were small but it was fine for a warm up. Norman was oozing confidence and didn't show a bit of nerves about the fight or the occasion. When it was time to walk out I could hear the crowd getting louder as we made our way back stage to the curtain. Norman got a great reception and I could see he was feeding off it and excited about the fight.   

The fight went well and Norman stuck to the gameplan, at the end of the first round Norman was opening up with some good ground and pound and if there was longer left in the round he could have finished him. Whenever a round ends I look at the opponent first to gauge where he's at both physically and mentally... he was broken.

Norman sat down and said "I'm way stronger than him" we gave him some advice and sent him back out there. Norman knew he could dominate him grappling and took the fight to the ground again and began opening up with some big elbows and punches forcing the ref to stop the fight. Norman did an Aldo and ran into the crowd but was quickly brought back by security to do his post fight interview. Norman called out Diego Sanchez so hopefully we'll get that fight.

After the fight Norman had to have the mandatory medical and then a series of interviews. We got back to the changing room and there was just enough time to head out and watch the main event. The atmosphere at this point was reaching fever pitch and the energy was electric. The only thing comparable to this was when we were in Brazil for Ross's fight against Barbosa.

Mcgregor's walk out was one of the best I've witnessed, not for the showiness of it but for the atmosphere and reception he received. Mcgregor seemed supremely confident and didn't seem at all fazed by the magnitude of the occasion, instead he seemed to be feeding off it. Brandao was the polar opposite and seemed like the occasion had got to him and was far too excited.

The fight was exciting but there was only going to be one outcome and excuse the cliche but Brandao was fighting two men that night, Mcgregor and the Irish fans. The noise when Mcgregor won was unbelievable it seemed like there was 20,000 fans there not 10.

Time will tell what level Mcgregor will get to but if self belief is anything to go by he's going to go very far. From speaking to him you can see he means what he says and he says what he means. Love him or hate him you have to admire his self belief, it's the most powerful tool any athlete can have. It's the same as an in form striker or hot basket player, they have a confidence and self belief that will make the difference when all other attributes like skill or power are equal.

Ross is in that place right now and his confidence and belief in himself is on a different level. He's aiming for the belt and to establish himself as a great and it's the only mindset that is possible in achieving that goal.

Post weigh in meal with the team and special guest Forrest Griffin 

Fight day run through at the hotel

Norman doing his post fight interviews

Winning team

UFC fight night 42 fight week blog part 3 "don't leave it to the judges"

We finished the warm up with some visualisation/meditation and Ross was oozing calm confidence and ready for action. We were watching the replay of the Dodson fight as we knew we were about to get the call.

You know when its your time as Burt Watson bellows out in his unmistakable husky, coarse voice "We rollin!!" We made our way from the changing rooms, which were in a separate building to the stadium. As we entered the stadium the energy form the crowd  hit me like a wall. The crowd was buzzing and you could feel the excitement in the room. There was a small wait before we called through to just behind the curtain to make the walk to the cage. Ross chose the Fugees 'ready or not' as a walk out tune and it was appropriate in this hostile territory.

The crowd was mixed in terms of support for Ross but there was definitely a lot of boos. We said our goodbyes at the cage and waited for Diego to enter. The crowd went mad for him and the noise was deafening. At this point the corner team are behind the cage holding the banner. We are passing last bits of information to Ross and reminding him of key words that we have been emphasising all camp. When Diego entered the cage he ran around it and beat is chest like a mad man directing his focus the whole time at Ross. Ross just kept his cool and didn't let it faze him.

One of the key words or phrases  we used to sum up our game plan was 'out class him'. We knew from watching tape on Diego and from his record that he was incredibly difficult to finish and getting into a dog fight with him or trying to KO him almost always favoured his style. The plan was to use a lot of movement and feints to make him throw and catch him on the counter. Doubling up with the jab was also important offensively. We also wanted to work his body with the right kick, right hand and right knee to slow him down as hitting him in the head can often have little or no effect. Another key point was to move after combinations and use angles when he came forward.

The fight went pretty much how we wanted it to. Ross kept to the game plan to the letter and found his range early in the first round. He landed a solid knee in the very first exchange and Diego grimaced a bit and you could see right away that Ross had earned his respect. He also landed a great left high kick that rocked Diego and a left hand that Jon Anik described as buckling Diego.

We came into the corner at the end of the round feeling confident that Ross had done enough to comfortably win the round. When cornering I will always stay conservative on the success of my fighters performance so any close round I will give to the opponent so that we don't get complacent. I wont however lie if the fighter has clearly won the round so that is what we told him. Eric and I both gave a couple of instructions and sent him into the next round feeling confident we were taking control of the fight.

The second was an even more dominant round and Ross landed a stiff right hand that dropped Diego and also took him down after catching a kick. Ross continued to attack the body and landed some nice right body kicks and also a few right hands to the body. Ross was looking relaxed and sharp and moving so well that Diego was struggling to hit him with anything clean. Again we were sure that Ross had won the round so told him he was doing really well but just gave a couple of pointers to tighten things up.

The third round was again dominant by Ross but not as dominant as the second but more so than the first. There were a few flurries from Diego but if you watch them he didn't land with anything clean and was countered with some tight inside shots. On the outside Ross was landing the cleaner shots, especially the switch right hook. The fight ended and Eric and I celebrated a job well done and walked into the cage. Joe Silva came into the ring and congratulated us and there was a feeling that everyone in the cage knew the result. Before the announcement we shook hands with the other corner team and they congratulated Ross on his performance and told us how well he did. Everyone in there thought that Ross had won.

When the announcement came and Bruce Buffer said "30-27 Pearson", I thought 'hold on a minute, when they say a name after the score that means its a split decision'. I was baffled but thought maybe I was wrong and he was going to say "and the other judges scored it 29-28 Pearson" unfortunately he didn't. He then read out the next score which was "30-27 Sanchez"  and I knew then that we had lost the fight. I couldn't hold back the shock and didn't know what to do. Eric just laughed and didn't know what else to do. Ross was shocked and looked at me as if it say 'are they serious?'

We left the cage and walked back to the waiting area.  Ross was checked over by the Doctor and given the all clear. No medical suspension. Diego wasn't so lucky and was given a medical suspension. Its funny that the guy that loses the fight gets the all clear and the one that wins gets a medical suspension.

We went back to the changing room and I immediately asked to speak to a commissioner. We wanted to ask about the appeal/complaint procedure. Eventually I got to speak to the vice president of the commission and explained our problem. I also wanted to see the score cards from the judges. They presented me with the summary of the score cards, which is all three judges score cards on one piece of paper but they wouldn't show me the individual score cards of the judges. I wanted to see if there had been a mistake and they had written down the wrong name... stranger things had happened.

We then wrote an appeal highlighting what we had a problem with and why. We cited evidence form fightmetric.com and also the media scores from mmadecisions.com. The commissioner assured me that they were taking the appeal very seriously and that there would be a full investigation into the result. When I asked her what a full investigation meant she gave me a politician type answer and was pretty vague. However she unofficially sympathised with us and said she is going to do her best to get to the bottom of the situation.

Alarm bells should have been ringing early though as when Ross was asked to do a drug test and saw the list of fighters, non of the fighters from New Mexico were on the list except for the main event. I raised my concerns with Burt Watson and he said he would look into but at that stage of the game it was a bit too late. In my experience drug tests are random but fight by fight not individual fighters. Things maybe different in New Mexico but it did seem a little convenient and not very random that they weren't tested.

While back in the changing rooms the coaches and fighters from other camps were coming to commiserate us and they all said we should have won the fight easily. The legendary coach from ATT Liborio said "at least you'll be remembered for being  involved in the worst robbery ever in the UFC" but I think we took little solace from that. The UFC staff didn't know where to look and almost seemed embarrassed. They are supposed to stay impartial so I could tell it was awkward for them and they were either uncomfortably smiling at us or avoiding eye contact.

Media reports have been saying that this is possibly one of the worst decisions in UFC history and I would have to agree. When looking back at some of the other controversial decisions in recent history like Machida vs Davis, GSP vs Hendricks or Jones vs Gustafson there can be arguments made either side due to take downs, control, strikes landed etc however in this situation I haven't heard one convincing argument as to why Sanchez won. Ross out struck him every round, got a take down, knocked him down twice (once if you are a Diego fan) and controlled the pace of the fight.

The press conference was mostly about the decision and Diego said he won the fight and I guess what else is he supposed to say. Ross stayed humble as ever and asked for a rematch to set things straight, Diego didn't exactly jump at the opportunity and I don't blame him. One of Diego's coaches was sat in front of me at the press conference and I asked him what he thought and he said he thought Diego won rounds 1 and 3. I brought up the fact that he wasn't saying that in the cage and we got in a bit of an argument but I dropped it as I knew nothing would come of it and what was he supposed to say?

We went back to the hotel and Kenny Florian and Jon Anik where stood in the entrance. We had already been sent a clip of the commentary where Kenny had shown Ross his support so we thanked him for that. Both Kenny and Jon didn't know what to say to Ross and we were laughing about how ridiculous it was. Kenny said to Ross "telling you you didn't win that fight is like telling you your shirt isn't black" (luckily
Ross's shirt was black)

The phrase 'don't leave it to the judges' kept coming up on my twitter feed and facebook page and its a term that used all to often in MMA. I use it  now with sarcasm because it really isn't acceptable. In no other sport, except for boxing (which is basically the same problem because the commissions are the same) would we tolerate such terrible and incompetent officiating. If that it was the NBA or football there would be up roar and the problem fixed.

Imagine someone saying to you, 'don't get sick because Doctors will kill you'. You'd be fair in thinking that was ridiculous and unfair and that Doctors should do the job they have been trained to do and you should be able to trust that they will.

The UFC has to take some responsibility for it and not just keep the 'don't leave it to the judges' line. It is seriously hurting the legitimacy of the sport. We are already fighting for main stream recognition as a sport and when farcical things like this happens we will start being pushed into the entertainment sector with WWE rather than a legitimate sport. It also must affect things like gambling as you would be scared to bet on things that you have no way of knowing if you are getting a fair crack. People that bet on Ross to win on Saturday night must be feeling fairly unhappy right now.

The people worst effected are the fighters. The reason scoring is in place is to fairly show a winner when fights aren't finished. Expecting or insisting that a fighter should finish every fight is ignorant and most likely the opinion of someone who has never fought before. When two fighters are evenly matched it is so difficult to finish fights. Even when they are out classed like Ross did to Diego it is still incredibly difficult to finish a guy that tough.We are then left in the hands of the judges and we can hope to get a fair representation of the fight.

Ross was only awarded half of his pay (at the time I write this) and it seems incredibly unfair that the incompetence or corruption of two judges has resulted in Ross halving is earnings. Imagine someone's mistake at your work place meant that you lost half of your wages.  I think you'd be pretty unhappy.

It's not only a question of money as Ross's career has now been affected. We were hoping for a ranked opponent after this fight to push Ross into the top 10. He has now been set back and can only hope that the UFC don't send him backwards with regards to level of opponent and take into account the performance that he put in on Saturday night.

Moving forward something has to be done. I'm not sure on a definite solution but the UFC must be proactive in fixing the problem. A good place to start would be judges training. The UFC could set up training courses in every area/city/country they visit. The course could be developed by the current UFC referees and senior judges and staff. During fight week judges on the commissions roster could attend a two day course going over techniques and positions and their potential weighting in a fight and also do fight analysis to help develop their skills.This would help to standardise the judging across the UFC in all of it's regions. This wouldn't be an overnight change but I don't think there is one. Over time the standard would rise and hopefully we would see less and less decisions like the one we saw on Saturday night.

Another option could be to bring in electronic scoring as either the 3rd judge or as an extra judge. You could also up the judges to 5 to try and get a better representation of the fight.

At this point we are still awaiting the news from our appeal and also from Dana and the other officials at the UFC but whether the decision is overturned or we get a rematch Ross is happy and healthy and we will take this in our stride and keep pushing forward until we win that belt.

Everyone seemed to score it for Ross

The numbers don't lie

UFC on fox had our back

The official score card

The commentators Jon Anik and Kenny Florian were shocked

UFC fight night 42 fight week part 2

Thursday was time for media duties. Instead of the old press conferences where the fighters are lined up on a desk and reporters fire questions at the fighters the UFC has recently favored media scrums. The fighters stay at their own 'stand' and reporters come round and ask their questions in groups or individually. 

The media part of fighting isn't Ross's favorite thing but with the time he has been in the UFC he has become more comfortable and professional in interviews and comes across really well.

As we were fighting in Alburqueque the home town guys were not staying at the hotel so we hadn't crossed paths with Diego all week. This was the first time Ross came face to face with him and was able to start sizing him up and starting the mind games that are so intrinsically a part of fighting.

In the stare down Diego didn't seem his usual intense self and Ross came away from the encounter feeling like he had Diego's number and saw doubt in his eyes. 

The nuances and body language that go into that feeling Ross got is almost intangible. From what everyone else saw as a normal stare down was an exchange of thousands of bits of information that are subconsciously and consciously picked up then processed and evaluated resulting in a feeling and assessment of your opponent. Ross felt he won the first exchange.

Ross was feeling buoyant from the meeting and we returned to the hotel for his last full meal before the weigh in. Ross had been incredibly disciplined this camp with regards to his training and nutrition so he came in a few lbs lighter than he usually is at the start of fight week.

Being that little bit lighter was intentional as the gameplan for the fight included a lot of movement. Also with the pace that Diego is known for setting we wanted his conditioning at its best and being a little lighter helps that.

The weight cut includes manipulating water and salt balance and also the ratio of fat/protein/carbohydrate in meals so that Ross's metabolism is stimulated and firing while still being calorie restricted.

Everything went to plan and by Thursday Ross only had a few lbs to go and was still drinking and eating. 

Our Alliance team mate Danny Martinez was also fighting on the card but had a little more to cut so did a light workout in the warm workout room to start shedding some weight. I wasn't managing his cut but he was in the very capable hands of Eric Uresk.

While Danny was working out Eric and I had a good role. It's always good to train with new people and we shared some techniques which is always fun.

We sat in the hot tub for a little while that evening to start the process but went to bed still feeling hydrated and happy.

Ross woke up in the morning with only a few lbs to go. The weigh in wasn't until 4PM so we had plenty of time to lose the weight. This meant that Ross was able to have some fruit for breakfast which shows you how well the cut was going. 

We were expected to meet the shuttle to leave to the weigh in at 3PM so we got Ross into a hot bath at 2PM. The hot bath raises his body temperature to start him sweating then we place him under towels and blankets to keep him warm and continuing sweating. We also use sweet sweat to help speed up the process. It's an all natural product and really helps with the cut.

At the weigh in the crowd was massively behind Diego but Ross swayed the crowd a little with his Hisenberg t-shirt. Again, Diego wasn't overly aggressive or intense, he was actually pretty happy and said to Ross that they were going to have a great fight.

After the weigh in Ross and Diego did an interview with fox before heading back to the hotel. Now is when the fun part starts.

Ross started to drink his individualised rehydration drink right off the scales. I don't allow him to eat anything for the first hour as hydration is the priority at this stage and food would inhibit rehydration and be counter productive.

It is also important to drink slowly as the gut can only handle about 1-1.5L of fluid per hour and any more than that would be a waste and could actually disrupt digestion and effect nutrient absorption.

The drink contains electrolytes and salts that are individually matched to Ross's needs. With the help of the sports science team at precision hydration we tested Ross's sweat sodium concentration and matched his rehydration drink appropriately to maximise absorption and speed up the rehydration.

The drink also contains a mix of sugars in the form of glucose and vitargo, amino acids, digestive enzymes (supplied by onnit) and some vitamins.

After an hour the first 'meal' is relatively small and consists of both simple and complex sugars in the form of fruit and natural oat bars.

It would be foolish to try and eat a large meal right away after having relatively small meals all week. It is a common mistake to do so resulting in feelings of bloating and indigestion and can upset the refuelling process. The first large meal is 3 hours post weigh in and consisted of rice, broccoli and chicken with a fresh ginger sauce. That meal was repeated a few hours later. Late that evening Ross continued to hydrate and snack on natural oat bars and fruit.

Coach Eric Delfiero had joined us from San Diego post weigh in and we all went out for dinner together. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of fight week and the whole Alliance team are like a family and are genuinely close so it's always jokes and fun when we go out for dinner post weigh in.

Coach Eric has been a great mentor to me, it has been an honour to work with him and I learn something from him every time we work together. It's also humbling when he asks for input on game plans etc with other Alliance fighters like Dominic Cruz.

On fight day Ross woke up feeling great and we started off the day with some bullet proof coffee. He was fully hydrated and refuelled and felt ready to go. 

Late morning we did a light training session and went over the combinations that we had been working during camp and just got Ross's heart rate up and his lungs working. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and Ross slept for a while after lunch. Lunch was actually more like breakfast and consisted of oats with fresh fruit and eggs with Wholemeal toast and avocado.

Back home in the UK there was a big night of MMA with both Cage Warriors and BAMMA having events. I had three guys that I work with fighting on BAMMA and friends fighting on Cage Warriors. We were able to watch the Cage Warriors show and there was some great fights.

During the week I was managing the guys weight cuts remotely and advising and consulting on their rehydration/refuelling. They all went well so I was excited to see the results from their fights.

I had to use twitter to see the play by play of the fights but it was a frustrating way to hear about the fights when you have a vested interest in the result. 

First up was Ed Arthur who is an incredibly promising bantamweight who I have been working with for a little while now. He reminds me of Ross when he first started out and has the same great mental attitude and work ethic alongside physical skills and gifts. Ed won by 2nd rnd tko. 

Next up was Alex Montagnani who is another promising prospect but who is further along in his career and is getting close to being ready for the big show. Alex was in a fight against a very tough opponent but who wasn't particularly well known which is always risky. Fortunately Alex came away with an impressive 1st rnd flying knee KO which made me shout out "yes!" While we were sat in a restaurant having lunch and made everyone look round.

In the main event was Max power Nunes fighting for the middleweight world title. As with all these guys I wish I could have been there to corner them but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It makes me feel especially bad if they loose in my absence as I feel I could have done something to help if I was there. Max lost by 3rd rnd TKO but I will have to watch the fight before I know what really happened. 

We left for the venue about 5 PM and the coach ride over was filled with nervous energy. It had a very different feeling than the coach ride over to the weigh ins.

Ross was feeling relaxed though and we just listened to music on the way over. When we got to the venue we were happy to see that we had really large changing rooms and a great warm up area. We had Brian Carroway, Rafeal dos Anjos, Bobby Volkner and our team mate Danny Martinez in our changing rooms.

As it was around 6 PM and Ross wouldn't be fighting until about 10 PM we relaxed and watched the other fights. If we let him, Ross would warm up for those 4 hours so it's important to keep him relaxed and chilled out.

At about 8PM Ross had his hands wrapped by Stitch. He has wrapped Ross's hands for every UFC fight including Ross's fights in the house. It's now part of the routine and Ross wouldn't want anyone else to do it. He's the best in the business and he has a great calming influence.

Ross then started with some hip mobility and dynamic stretching to warm up. We then did some boxing pads and Thai pads and mixed that with some grappling drills and situational grappling. We finished off with some guided mediation and waited from the call from Burt.

"We Rollin!!!!!"

Check out the next blog for the exclusive inside reaction to the fight and the decision 

Ross at the media day

Having a joke with some of the reporters 

The stare down at the media day. Ross saw glimpses of doubt.

With Eric Uresk after our rolling session

Making weight easy in the hot tub

My makeshift lab for making up the rehydration drinks for Ross.

                                               

Ross still joking about in the bath, starting to sweat.

Mummified! Ross wrapped in towels to keep him warm and to continue sweating.

Back stage before the weigh in waiting to get on the scales.

having fun at the stare down

Ross already feeling well after rehydrating a bit.

Ross and Diego being interviewed for the fox pre-weigh-in show

Good times! Ross and Danny getting some well earned food in with the team.

Ross the barrister making buletproof coffee the morning of the fight.

Ross and Eric going over some last minute drills on the morning of the fight.

Brunch of champions

Stitch making hands of stone

working some knees on the thai pads

UFC fight night 42 fight week

The fight week for UFC fight night 42 has been great. We arrived in Albuquerque on Sunday which is a little bit earlier than usual. The UFC normally flys the fighters in on the Tuesday before the fight but with Alburqueque being at altitude we came in a bit early to make sure Ross was acclimatised. 

On the Sunday night we did a sprint session which ticked a couple of boxes by giving Ross his last conditioning session but also exposing Ross to the altitude and opening up his lungs. Ross felt great and smashed the sprint session and I didn't record any difference in performance due to the altitude but Ross did comment that his throat was dry. 

In an attempt to combat any effect on performance from the altitude in Alburqueque we found an altitude chamber at Teesside university for Ross to use during camp while he was in England. He did two sessions a week in the chamber and did a mix of pads, sprints and high interval training. We definitely recorded an improvement in performance particularly in relation to recovery.

On the Monday we had no obligations with the UFC so we fit in a bit of sight seeing, training and regeneration. We travelled a couple of hours north into the mountains and went to a natural hot mineral spring. We went for a run through the mountains along one of the hiking trails, much to the bemusement   of the other hikers on the trail and stopped halfway along the trail and did a few rounds of shadow boxing and light hand pads, mostly working on specific techniques and combinations that we have been working during camp.

I also took Ross through some guided mediation and breathing techniques.

These past few camps we have been integrating mindfulness into Ross's training program and he has really noticed a benefit. As with all things meditation is something you have to train and I have noticed how much better he has got and also how much deeper into the meditation he can go. He is in a great place mentally and I know we will see that this Saturday night.

We ran back to the springs and Ross had a full body massage. Nothing too heavy or deep but just enough to stimulate circulation and release any tension in his muscles. We then sat in the  hot mineral springs and relaxed for about an hour. There were four springs and they were all different in their mineral content and therefore had different healing properties. The energy and power in the water was tangible and incredibly rejuvenating it was similar to the feeling you can get from being in the sea.

On the Tuesday we signed in with the UFC and reported to the man behind the UFC, Burt Watson. He's such a high energy person and always makes you feel amazing just by being around him. Burt likes to check the fighters weight just to monitor where the fighter is and if there is anything to be concerned about. Ross's weight has been great for this whole camp and he is well on schedule for a healthy and happy weight cut. At this point we also get the schedule for any media obligations like photos, interviews etc

Fortunately we didn't have anything to do on the Tuesday so we went for a bit of stight seeing and active recovery. We went into the hills again for a hike but didn't venture to far due to the bear and cougar warning! 

We also did a bit of a Breaking Bad tour and visited a few sites from the show. Ross is a big fan so loved seeing all the places the show was filmed, the lady who owned the house we were taking pictures of didn't seem to like it as much though so we made a swift exit when she came out of the house.

That evening we did some training in the workout rooms in the hotel. Nothing too intense just some pads, Dutch drills and light rolling. The workout room was hot though so it made for a good workout and also great for a stretch and foam roller routine.

On the Wednesday there was a few things to do for the UFC like a photo shoot, pre fight video interview and also some press interviews over the phone.

In between that we were able to fit in a trip to the mall and I think this is the first time ever Ross hasn't bought a par of trainers during fight week but that's only because he couldn't fit anymore in his bag! I however thought it would be rude to break the tradition so got a pair of Nike prestos. Fresh!

We had our last training session on Wednesday night and it was very similar to Tuesday nights workout. Ross was feeling sharp and powerful and that's largely due to how well the weight cut has been going and how high his energy levels have been this week.

The excitement is building now and we are grateful everyday for doing a job we love and getting to travel the world while we do it.

The weight cut is next on the list of things to do but with my plan and Ross's professionalism it will be easy and healthy and he will be ready to go come Saturday night!

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