We never would have thought there would have been so big a difference.
Conor McGregor is training for the [next] biggest fight of his career and, this time, he is on unfamiliar ground. Luckily, in a world gone increasingly bonkers, the UFC star can rely on George Lockhart.
The former marine has been in the fight game for well over a decade now and he has worked closely with McGregor since 2014. With Floyd Mayweather waiting, in Las Vegas, on August 26, Lockhart’s number was one of the first McGregor called to help him prepare.
Lockhart spoke with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on day one of the McGregor-Mayweather world tour. He detailed the key differences between cutting weight for a boxing and MMA bout.
“I’ll tell Conor wait to eat, what to drink, and he won’t put anything else in his mouth. No supplementation. Nothing, unless I give it to him.
“With MMA [and] weight cutting, it’s an advantage if you gain a whole lot of weight back; 20 pounds. Boxing is a lot different. You don’t want to cut a whole lot of weight.
“A lot of people say to me. ‘George, you’ve got to get into the boxing world’. I’m like, a lot of these guys walk in on-weight. The truth of the matter is, nobody is hanging on you and trying to take you down. Weight doesn’t have as much of a factor as it does in MMA.
“In boxing, if I’m bigger than you but I can’t hit you, it doesn’t really help you.”
Lockhart revealed both he and McGregor would be perfectly content if he went into fight week just five pounds over the 154lbs limit. All he would require, then, to make weight would be cutting back on food and ‘manipulating the sodium levels’.
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As for McGregor’s weight on fight-night, Lockhart would prefer ‘The Notorious’ to simply gain a couple more pounds. There will be no packing on 15 to 20lbs extra – 30+ in extreme circumstances – the night before a fight, which is common in MMA.
Helwani asked for a sample, daily diet for McGregor and he duly obliged. Due to the serious air-miles McGregor will be racking up, Lockhart has cut a lot of carbohydrates from the Dub’s diet.
MCGREGOR’S TOUR DIET
Breakfast: Seared tuna with bean sprout salad
Lunch: Lamb chops [w/ veg]
Dinner: Bisson with paprika seasoning and mango puree
Snacks: Greens, fruits [fructose carbs]
When it comes time to train for the fight, Lockhart says McGregor will be back on the heavy carbs and he will burn through each and every pound he puts on.
Check out the full interview here:
