LAS VEGAS – Jon Jones tipped the scales right on the 205-pound light heavyweight limit for Saturday’s UFC 197 main event thanks to a new health regimen that includes eating … cake?
Jones is a solid favorite to defeat Ovince Saint Preux at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and insisted he is in the condition of his life after following a detailed nutrition plan.
As for the cake thing, well, it’s not quite as it seems.
“Everything has its place in the way I eat,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports. Jones, who employed athletic nutrition expert Louis Giordano for this camp, added: “A lot of people think to cut weight you need to cut out carbs. That’s not right at all. Your body needs to be in balance.
“Your meals need to be in balance too. I eat cake sometimes, it is just about how you balance it with the other parts you put into your body. If I eat that, I take out something else.”
A month out from the fight, Jones weighed 220lb, meaning the remaining weight cut was relatively easy. Virtually all of his meals were specially devised, prepared and delivered by Giordano, who goes by the business name “Loutrition.”
During an interview with USA TODAY Sports in late March, Giordano was temporarily unavailable, so Jones selected his own menu at a restaurant in Albuquerque. He chose avocado, brown rice, chicken wraps – and would follow up with another meal around four hours later after an afternoon run, plus a pair of protein shakes and two more meals spread through the day.
“I have done things wrong for a long time, and I am fortunate it didn’t cost me in competition,” Jones, 28, said. “Now I am at the stage where I need to maximize my gifts and respect my talent.”
