The Fight Science Podcast

Dr. Heather Linden is the head of Physical Therapy at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

Heather plays an integral role in keeping the UFC athletes in peak condition and uses the latest science and technology to ensure that if they get injured, they are returning to training in the best shape possible, as soon as possible.

In this episode, we discuss Heather’s role at the UFC PI, the newest data that the PI has been collecting over its lifetime, what we currently know about concussion for combat athletes and Heather's role during a UFC Fight Week.

Gavin Pratt is the Strength and Conditioning Manager for the UFC Performance Institute (PI) in Shanghai China, where he leads the first-ever elite academy of young Chinese fighters. His role is to develop the physical capacities of the rostered UFC athletes, as well as the full-time academy athletes who are dawning on their UFC debuts.

Gav has one of the most impressive and diverse careers in Strength and Conditioning totaling 20 years’ experience training elite level athletes.

In this episode, we discuss how he came to work with the UFC PI, how the Academy team at the Shanghai PI is structured, the facilities and equipment he has available to him, and how he programs their year-round training schedule to optimize their performance.

Corey Beasley is the founder of fightcampconditioning.com. and he has been working as a coach for over 16 years, working with top fighters from the UFC, Bellator, ADCC and more.

Fight Camp Conditioning is a hub of knowledge for Combat athletes, coaches, and enthusiasts. You can find information on strength training, nutrition, technique and much more.

In this episode, Corey and I talk about how Fight Camp Conditioning came to be the juggernaut it is today, and we dive in to his recommendations when strength training fighters.

Tony Ricci one of the most experienced and successful coaches in the Combat Sports world. He is a qualified Strength and Conditioning Coach, Board Certified Sports Nutritionists, Lecturer, Researcher and Black Belt across many Combat disciplines.

Tony has worked with a number of World Champions in every major organisation you can think of and is a mentor to many of the prominent figures in the Combat Sports Nutrition and Conditioning worlds.

In this episode, we discuss his research of Creatine for Combat Athletes, the concept of Neurosports, supplementation and his protocol for strength training his athletes.

Coach Ben Z returns to the podcast to speak all things Strength and Conditioning. Ben is a first degree Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, owning three adacemies and a Strength and Conditioning Coach at MusclePharm HQ.

Coach Ben is the go to trainer for a number of high-level Combat Athletes across California and is a fountain of knowledge in the areas of Nutrition, Strength and Technical training.

In this episode, we discuss the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the future of the health and fitness industry, his strategies when strength training athletes, and his thoughts on some current trends in the Combat Strength world.

Bo Sandoval is the Director of Strength and Conditioning at the UFC Performance Institute, Las Vegas. He has a decorated career working with collegiate and olympic athletes in various sports and is now developing the next generation of fighters with the UFC.

In this episode, we discuss his journey to the UFC, his rigorous testing protocols, how he programs an individualized protocol, key physiological characteristics fighters need at different weight classes and the future growth of the Performance Insitute globally.

Dan Brown is a Ph.D. Candidate at Griffith University in Gold Coast, Australia. He is investigating Head and Neck Trauma in Combat Athletes.

As part of his Ph.D., he is developing preventative tools that can be utilized by athletes and coaches and a system to consistently monitor the signs and symptoms of Head and Neck Trauma to quickly identify and treat abnormalities should they arise.

Dan is leading the field in Concussion research in this population and this episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in Combat Sports.

Phil Daru is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at American Top Team, Coconut Creek, Florida and the CEO and Founder of Daru Strong.

He is one of the top S&C coaches in all of MMA and has coached athletes such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier, King Mo, Colby Covington, and many other UFC athletes.

In this episode, we discuss his journey from D1 Football to twice being nominated for Trainer of the year at the World MMA Awards. We discuss his training methodologies and how he gets athletes from many different sports all over the world Daru Strong.

Meer Awny is the Owner and Head Coach of Ethos Performance AU, one of Australia's premier training facilities for Combat Athletes.

The walls of Ethos are home to UFC stars Tyson Pedro and Tai Tuivasa, Bellator athletes Arlene Blencowe and Janay Harding, Boxing sensation George Kambosos Jnr as well many other local, national and Olympic level athletes.

In this episode, Meer and I discuss how he is handling the recent COVID-19 shutdown, the difference between training amateurs and professionals, and the key concepts that you need to practice to effectively train Combat Athletes.

Jonathan Pain is a Researcher and Strength and Conditioning Coach with over 15 years experience in the Combat Sports Space.

A former competetitor himself, he has worked Combat Athletes across the UK from the local, national, international and Olympic levels.

In this episode we discuss how to best integrate yourself as part of a Combat Team, and Jonathan's latest research on the metabolic effect of carbohydrate intake and performance. An area of research that is a hot topic in the Sports Nutition world, as many athletes often completely remove carbohydrates from their diet as an attempt to reduce body weight prior to weigh ins.