Johny Hendricks's weight-cutting issues cost him the UFC welterweight title, at least that's the opinion of Mike Dolce.
The fighter-turned-nutrition guru cited Hendricks's inability to stay in peak condition between fights as the reason why he couldn't outlast Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 in December.
"Johny Hendricks has such problems with his weigh-ins, because he balloons up in the offseason," Dolce told Ariel Helwani, according to MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi. "He carries too much body fat. It's extremely unhealthy to dehydrate the muscles, where you can't dehydrate the body fat. So it comes out of all the vital areas of the body and that causes all these poor performances."
Conversely, Dolce praised Lawler's professionalism, as the dynamite-fisted American Top Team product stays in fight shape all year round. When the two men squared off at UFC 181, Hendricks faded down the stretch, while Lawler picked up the pace and punished the Oklahoman over the final two frames.
"You don't deserve to beat these guys if you're not living the same lifestyle," Dolce said. "Talent and a hard punch is only gonna get you so far. You gotta earn the victory long before the fight."
