I have an extensive combat sports background spanning over 35 years. I competed at the Olympic level in boxing, taekwondo, and sport karate, the only athlete ever to represent the U.S. (and Israel) in international competition in multiple amateur combat sports. I have been training and competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) for 20 years. I have accomplished this in a career free of performance-enhancing drugs (I was enrolled in anti-doping for 20 years).
I continue to fight because I love mastering the craft and testing my will against new fighters. I am dedicated to my fight training in the same way that I am dedicated to my medical and scientific career. I train 25 hours/week, 52 weeks a year, and I have maintained this pace since I had my first amateur competitions as a youth and then throughout medical school and post-grad education. I have never missed one week of training in 35 years, with the exception being for surgeries, and all my vacation time is used for competitions. My decision to enter medicine and to research trauma to the body was based in part on my desire to prevent injuries to myself and training partners and extend my fighting career. MMA has the highest injury rate of any sport, but I have had fewer injuries and managed them better with state-of-the-art prevention and recovery methods, many of my own devising.
I have been competing in the same combat weight class for 20 years and I maintain this fight weight year round. I have achieved this by being analytical with my nutrition and designing and testing precise dietary regimens.
