BJPenn.com head: BJ wants to retire in peace, dispute not allowing it

Pedro Carrasco, director of BJPenn.com, came on The UnderGround and offered BJ Penn’s side of the ongoing dispute with famed nutritionist and S&C coach Mike Dolce.

From: Pedro Carrasco

Posts: 844

I know I’m going to come off bias no matter what I say or what kind of insight I may have. I work for BJ and he’s my neighbor, so obviously there’s a connection.

That being said, the most telling thing that BJ has told me is that he just wants to retire in peace. But Mike isn’t allowing that.

The only time BJ is reacting to Dolce is when Dolce starts putting blame on BJ for a poor camp and not training. It’s the same stigma that’s been following BJ for years and anyone who knows BJ, like Mike does, knows that that’s a button you don’t push.

So we have Mike pushing BJ’s buttons in public (on purpose) and BJ reacting. Truth is, BJ has a valid argument and a valid reason to not be happy with the Dolce experience.

BJ is a fighter, Mike is a businessman. Difference is BJ is acting like a fighter, and Mike isn’t acting like a professional.

It’s not really my place to discuss the intricacies of the relationship, but BJ shared some further details with us and got pretty specific with BJPENN.COM.

BJPENN.COM: We’ve heard the rumors, and seen the small jabs back-and-forth, but what is this feud with Mike Dolce really all about BJ?

BJ Penn: Dolce was brought in to bring me back to my sparring weight of 160 (after weigh-ins) and instead sent me in to the ring under 150 pounds, leaving me extremely dehydrated. He has assumed a role that he has done nothing wrong, and he’s actually saying he did a great job, and I’m the one to blame.

BJPENN.COM: How did Mike bring you down to 145 pounds?

BJ: Dolce had me take four different types of diuretics. He did not want me to sweat out a single pound. He put me on four different diuretic pills, had me take them four-times per day, and I did that for a week.

I took Expel, Dandelion Root, UVA Ursi and one more, I forget the name. This was the first time a nutritionist ever offered me diuretics to make weight, in my whole career.

The day before the weigh-in I was at 147 pounds. On that day, I addressed some concerns to Dolce about how I could not carry my bags or walk up any large amount of steps. My heart rate would shoot up and I would feel like fainting, but his approach didn’t change.

He didn’t have me sit in a jacuzzi to sweat, like you usually see him do. All he did was give me pills to suck all the weight out of me, but he didn’t have the knowledge, or the expertise to put the water back in, without an I.V.. (Previously a welterweight and lightweight, Penn walked into the cage at just 148lbs.)

Look how Ronda cut weight. She was 10 pounds over the day before weigh-in. I was only a pound over. He says Ronda didn’t use an IV either, but we cut weight totally different.

Mike Dolce does help a lot fighters, I’m not sitting here saying he’s totally useless. But he has no degree, no formal training, and there are a lot of holes in his game.

Carrasco expanded on the remarks on the The UG.

From: Pedro Carrasco

Posts: 856

You guys can be such a tough crowd. haha – but I totally understand and do not take it personally.

I’m just gonna try to explain, even though You guys gonna just bash me again.

This is really simple.

The truth here, the whole thing here really comes down to just a few things. I’m going to say this because no one else will. And you guys are too smart to have these wholes left out there.

Can everyone remember when BJ was hell-bent on spending this last camp at Nova Uniao, in Rio? He even went down there for 20 days for a pre-camp and the whole nine.

OK, so he opted to not go there for actual fight camp at the last minute, a shocker to a lot of us, but for BJ, it was the best decision to make.

Now, without the watchful eye of Dede (Bj’s longtime coach/master), BJ’s family was concerned for his safety in the cage, based on the last few fights. Can you blame them and the people who care about BJ for that?

In comes Dolce.

Now you guys want the truth, here it is.

Dolce was brought in to be Dolce and do the Dolce thing. Bj coming down two-weight classes and he’s never even really been a weight cutter, so this was new territory. But that was just part of it.

You add the weight cut, and the fact that BJ’s training camp plans with Nova Uniao just went out the window and Mike Dolce became the highest regarded, most respected, and best resort to keep the camp contained, constant, and professional.

Dolce calls himself a peak-performance coach after-all, right?

No one from BJ’s side really wanted him to fight again after the last one. But what Mike did, what Dolce said, and how he presented himself to everyone, was that he was going to make sure everything was right and that BJ was ready on all levels, and if anything was wrong, pull out of the fight. Everyone agreed. Everyone that mattered at least, trusted Dolce with this responsibility. And he gave his word, as a coach and a professional.

The guy brought in training partners and the whole-nine.

Before BJ’s circle signed off on Dolce’s inclusion into camp it was made specifically clear to BJ and to everyone that Dolce was to say if BJ should fight or not.

A man with his reputation, his word was gold at the time.

If he said BJ was good to go, ready to fight, BJ fought. If Mike said BJ didn’t have it anymore, he lost a step, wasn’t ready to fight, BJ was going to pull out.

Mike was basically brought to Hawaii and into camp because BJ’s family wanted to make sure BJ was safe. They were worried about him. Straight up, and Mike Dolce was to tell them whether or not BJ was fit to fight. He knew this going in.

If what Mike Dolce said on JRE was true, than it contradicts his purpose and everything he said to everyone here before the fight, and why he was hired.

If what he said on this video I just shared is true, than he botched the weigh-cut, gave BJ diuretics, and did some shady things both during and after to protect his brand.

BJ wanted that Edgar fight really bad. What kind of person loses to a guy twice and wouldn’t take the 3rd serious like Mike says?

BJ has never made any excuses for the loss. He isn’t mad at the loss, or at Frankie. He’s called it the worst performance of his career. He acknowledges that, he’s realistic about what happened and this is not an excuse.

What upsets BJ is what we’ve already gone over 1000+ times, Dolce dragged us into this whole thing.

What Mike Dolce has done, is wrong. none of you have to believe any of this, and you may still not place any blame on Dolce, but I have no reason to fabricate this story.

You tell me, if Mike promised to do that, if that’s why he was brought in, did he fail?

Based on BJ’s performance, you decide for yourself, did Mike Dolce live up to his word and do his job?

Alright, sorry for being so long winded. Maybe this helps, maybe it doesn’t. the UFC, UFC Fit, The Dolce Diet, All these things work behind the scenes to elevate Dolce to be something he’s not. and they do it all for money. Its a business. Think outside the box.

BJ Penn is now on the record as saying he wants this dispute to end so that he can retire in peace. Let’s hope then that this is the very end of it.