Vegetarianism A Rising Trend In MMA

Dave Meltzer has a great piece today delving into the growing trend of fighters converting toward lighter, vegetarian diets. The move away from meals where meat is the main focus seems to be becoming a popular choice for fighters looking to add an edge to their training. In an age where margins of error are ever shrinking, fighters are looking for any possible advantage over their competition. The success of two men in particular is only aiding in the promotion of the lighter lifestyle. Jake Shields — a lifelong vegetarian — will get his shot at UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129 in Toronto and perennial contender Jon Fitch takes on legend BJ Penn Feb. 26 at UFC 127.

Fitch told Yahoo!-

"The biggest thing is better recuperation from training," Fitch said. "I don't have the days where I came in flat. It's made for the best training camp of my career."

Aaron Simpson — another recent convert to vegetarianism — explained to me some of the difficulties that come with the territory of eating clean.

"I'm really trying to find ways to increase my protein. I've been a vegetarian since February and I've only ever eaten chicken sparingly over the last few years. I'm trying to eat healthier which means more vegetables and greens, much more than I was in the past while I was eating meat. I have to be very aware of where I'm getting my proteins and keeping those levels up. I eat pretty healthy in and out of camp for the most part. I have a really tough time with killing animals, that's my worst thing. Especially some of the factory farmed meat that's going on out there with the things they put into animals. I'm not sure how safe that meat is anyway."

Eating on the go is usually a major issue for any vegetarian, but exponentially more so for professional athletes. Good thing he's headed somewhere like Sydney.

"Eating there won't be a problem," Fitch said. "I was there in December and scouted out places for the week of the fight."

Fitch shouldn't have any issues finding quality grub in Sydney. I spent about a month traveling around the country a few summers back and Sydney is on par with most major US cities in culture and dining. The flight is the real killer. If he can survive that and whatever Quantas serves in terms of vegetarian meals, he should be just fine.