George Lockhart was a huge piece to the puzzle when it came to Max Holloway stepping in to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. Before anything could be accepted, Holloway’s manager Brian Butler-Au and Holloway reached out to Lockhart, who is Holloway’s nutrition and weight cut coach. It was up to Lockhart to determine whether Holloway would have enough time to make 155 lbs by Friday morning.
Lockhart told MMA fighting that it was a stressful time trying to figure out if this weight cut was possible or not.
“It was a lot of math, a lot of calculations and a lot of f*cking stress in a short amount of time,” Lockhart told MMA Fighting. “I was like, ‘f*ck.’”
Lockhart did not confirm how much weight Holloway needed to cut, but Holloway has admitted that his weight cut to 145 is very brutal. With Max Holloway’s recent ankle injury, he has been less active making it difficult to know what weight he is currently walking around at.
After Lockhart made his assessments, he gave the all clear and Holloway was able to accept the bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC’s lightweight championship at UFC 223.
“This is huge for Max and honestly this would be so easy to say, ‘No, man, he can’t do it’ and it would be no stress on me,” Lockhart said. “But the kid, I know he wants it. I know Max wants it. He’s actually excited about this shit. He has so much weight to cut, but he was excited. It was like he had a challenge. He’s just like, ‘Let’s do this’ and I’m like, ‘all right.’”
This weight cut is admittedly going to be terribly difficult, but Lockhart is confident that “Blessed” can make the weight.
“Max I know is gonna do it to a tee,” Lockhart said. “I know he’s gonna be able to push himself to where most people aren’t willing to go. So, I’m excited. But still. When I was in the Marine Corps and we had to run three miles, it’s not like you couldn’t run three miles, it’s like because you have to do it in a specific amount of time, it’s not that you can’t do it, it’s just that you know what you gotta go through to get there and it’s like, ‘shit.’”
To get the best performance out of Holloway, whilst cutting weight effectively, Lockhart aims to put Holloway in a state of ketosis. This will deprive Holloway’s body of carbohydrates, forcing his body to burn fat for energy.
“He’s gonna have to push his body,” Lockhart said. “But it’s gonna be low impact. It’s not like he’s gonna be sparring and grappling and stuff. His body doesn’t have the ability. That would be dangerous. So we’re doing low impact, but high volume.”
The next few days in the buildup to UFC 223 are going to be stressful for George Lockhart and Max Holloway’s camp, but Holloway is called “blessed” for a reason. Lockhart is positive that Holloway will make weight and still maintain a high level of performance at UFC 223
Will Max Holloway make weight at UFC 223?
