UFC to launch Fit Tour at McChord

by Jake Chappelle
446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

5/1/2014 - MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- Ever wonder how those Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes achieve world-class conditioning? The answer will be available at three locations here, May 3.

UFC Fit Coach Mike Dolce and former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin will hold a fitness workshop at the Wilson Fitness Center at Lewis North, noon to 1 p.m. Attendees will get a chance to take photos with them during question-and-answer sessions at the McChord Field Exchange from 1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., and the Lewis Main Exchange from 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Four hundred UFC Fit-Air Force Reserve T-shirts will be handed out between the locations.

The fitness workshop is to present effective and proven conditioning approaches for people to incorporate into their daily lifestyles, especially those who struggle with attaining their fitness goals. Nobody recognizes this more than Dolce - who once found himself in life-threatening shape.

He was close to Heaven's doorstep weighing nearly 300 pounds. He experienced severe health risks, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and heart palpitations. But when he developed a system based on various exercise and dietary principles, he not only helped elevate UFC fighter conditioning to optimal levels, he destroyed more than 100 pounds from his frame.

"I'm now 195 pounds, with only five percent body fat," Dolce said. "I was even down to 170 pounds when I was fighting. When you begin the UFC Fit Program, realize that this is a lifestyle. This is not simply a 12-week transformation program. At 280 pounds, those first 12 weeks were difficult, but I made tremendous progress. Then I did another 12 weeks, and another, and now it's just the way I live."

Franklin also underwent a transformation, which led him to UFC glory.

When his dreams of college football stardom crumbled he turned to karate to keep his competitive engine running. With the support of friends Franklin incorporated a number of combative styles, like Thai boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, also known as BJJ into his fighting arsenal. After winning some amateur matches, and committing to full-time training - not to mention a marriage - the former school teacher found himself in the Octagon for his UFC debut.

The fitness workshop is an Air Force Reserve Recruiting sponsored event, and part of the 2014 UFC Fit Tour, which the athletes visit U.S. military installations, like Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

UFC interactive elements will be set-up at the event, including a punching bag, video game displays, fight belts, and other UFC memorabilia. Air Force Reserve Recruiters will be available to answer questions.

For more information about this event or questions about the Air Force Reserve, please contact 446th Airlift Wing recruiter Master Sgt. Kylie Costa at (253) 982-2247, DSN 382-2247, or kylie.costa@us.af.mil.