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‘Randlethighs’
15 Jul 2009 7:59PM
What to talk about when things are going well?... Well it’s a testing question really. I had last week off ‘cos my hip was playing up from all the guard work I mentioned in my last post. Ironic really that I managed to hurt myself doing something well... normally it’s a mistimed kick or weak takedown attempt that tweaks my ageing aching limbs. But this time it was from exerting too much pressure with my ‘Randlethighs’ (thankyou David and Jon for my new nickname). For those not in the know this is due to my supposed coconut cracking thighs and their apparent enormity. This despite my protestations that in fact my legs have thinned considerably since my rugby days. The injury it seems stems from some sort of imbalance between my adductors and abductors... all I know is it makes my bum feel like I’ve been kicked and my back aches. Plus I feel the constant need to stretch my obliques (sides).
So back to my thighs. They apparently have another use too... snapping Matt’s toes. Oh and he claims I nearly tapped him out with my hamstrings once while arm-barring him (which of course I couldn’t finish Matt!). Physique is a funny thing in MMA, there are assumptions from many that fighters should be ultra lean and well muscled, but this clearly isn’t the case for all. Fedor is a bit lumpy, Chuck always had a bit of mud round his guts and the less said about Tim Sylvia the better. In the other extreme a criticism levelled at Brock Lesnar of late is that he would ‘gas out’ if someone took him deep into a fight... I disagree. I think he has the heart of a very large rhino underneath that horrendous tattoo. What’s my point? I don’t really know as I am literally typing as I think.. but the thought has crossed my mind that this is a good excuse for my love handles. Actually that’s a good talking point... let’s run with it.
Some fighters cut huge amounts of weight, figures like 10kg plus. Others cut very little or maybe none at all. The most I have cut for a fight is 4kg and strangely I weighed in for my fight against Eugene Fadiora at under 83kg fully clothed with a rucksack on my back.So you have a comparison, I’m walking around now at about 88kg. What I find strange is the at both 82kg and at 88kg my body fat stayed almost exactly the same (between 14 and 16%), therefore the mass must have been muscle and retained water... rather a lot. My diet in the 4 months leading up to the fight with Eugene was immaculate and my weight dropped till some days I was weighing in at about 81kg.
My last fight against Joey van Wanrooij I cut 3.5kg to weigh in at just under 84kg. Did I feel any advantage being heavier than before? Not really, certainly not in my opinion. I have wondered often if this obsession some fighters have of weight cutting to fight in lower weight classes is really necessary. Clearly at top level it plays a huge role as those minute advantages make the difference, but for lower level fighters (of which I am proud to be one) is this the case? Joey should really be a welterweight or even lightweight and by his own admission was overweight for our fight. In truth, how many of the guys that I might fight in the near future are going to be cutting from 90kg+ and be also ripped? And also should that happen how much of an advantage is it for a drained 90kg+ fighter getting in the ring at say 88kg going to have against me when I may only need to cut about 2kg and feel fresh? Not many I’d guess... or hope (cue matchmakers looking to get Dave a monster to fight). I may be wrong on this and may well have to find out the hard way hahahahaha...
But for now I think I’ll take another scoop of Ben and Jerry’s and think big.
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