September - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
16
the sports science behind
exercise and nutrition,”
said Giordano. “As I got
older, and started working
with professional athletes, I
started to notice there was
a huge gap between profes-
sional athletes. I decided to
try and create my business
off of that.”
One big professional athlete
Giordano has been working
with is season nineteen of
The Ultimate Fighter winner
Eddie Gordon. Gordon, who
was known for coming into
fights on the bigger side be-
cause of his drastic weight
cuts, came into his most
recent fight looking shred-
ded. Why? Because he was
no longer cutting weight, he
was managing it with Lou
Giordano.
“My slogan is ‘we do not
cut weight, we manage it,’”
said Giordano. “Surprisingly,
managing Eddie’s weight
was easy. That is what the
most frustrating thing for
me all these years in this in-
dustry is that is much easier
than people think. However,
there is a science behind it.
Science meaning there is a
specific time and place as to
when you havewhat calories,
how much, and how often
you eat. It was easy with Ed-
die because Eddie gave up.
Meaning he just listened to
everything I did. He did not
eat anything that was not
approved by me. The weight
just came off very easily. We
did not cut one pound.”
This is where Lou Giordano is
cementing himself as one of
the best people in the sport;
managing fighters weight,
not cutting it. Weight cutting
has been one of the biggest
problems in MMA, and in
my opinion it is the biggest.
You can sit here and argue
about PEDs and whatnot,
but what is most important
is that fighters are actually
hurting their bodies by cut-
ting so much weight.
Giordano cares about the
health of fighters more than
the money you can make by
cutting weight; that is why
he manages the weight of
fighters.
The UFC announced that
starting October 1, fighters
would no longer be able to
rehydrate with an IV after
cutting weight. Many fight-
ers and weight specialists
were outraged by the news.
Giordano has been one of
the more outspoken people
on the recent IV ban in the
UFC, but instead of being
angry like many were, Gior-
dano is all for it.
“I think it is a great thing,”
said Giordano. “I was very
vocal with a bunch of other
interviews that I have done. I
know there are a lot of other
people who do work with
fighters in the industry and
they are a fan of the IV. They
use it and rely on it. You do
not need it. It is a great thing
because it will level the play-
ing field. It will force fight-
ers to be 100%. Whether
they go up in weight or they
find a way to manage their
weight and stay where they
are.”
Maybe you do not under-
stand what Giordano means
by the IV ban forcing fight-
ers to be 100% so he talked
more about it.
“Meaning this,” said Gior-
dano. “Most guys, when
they are doing a drastic
weight cut, their bodies are
so dehydrated and drained
of nutrients that, yes you get
to drink fluids and eat food,
but it is a twenty-four hour
period. You are not going to
be back at 100%. It is like a
video game, if your health
meter is half way down and
they guy you are facing has
his full, it is going to be a lot
more challenging regardless
of how much skill you have.”
Not only will fighters be
100%, but also more im-
portantly for the sport and
to Giordano, they will be
healthier. The fighters will
no longer allow their bodies
the risk of long-term injury
from extreme weight cut-
ting. Giordano talked about
the health problems that as-
sociate with cutting weight
