CAPONUTRITION

CAPONUTRITION Perform like a professional athlete, eat like an authentic Italian

02/05/2026

Last year I counted it up and I spent five months out of twelve on the road for work.
Most of my vlogs have always focused on what I do during fight week. This time I wanted to flip the perspective and document what my work looks like in the off season.

In this vlog I show part a training session with Alex Sterner, black belt in jiu jitsu and strength and conditioning coach at Electrum Performance. You will also see time in the kitchen, where I work on refining recipes that later become part of fight week protocols, and discussing my mistakes with Michelin starred chef .agazzi.89

Full video on YouTube.

You often see me around great athletes, in high level environments, doing things that might look impressive from the out...
02/03/2026

You often see me around great athletes, in high level environments, doing things that might look impressive from the outside, and I might play a small role in their success.

That role is limited to the application of nutrition principles that come from my formal education and from more than a decade of work in this field. That is where it starts, and that is where it ends.

I have been in the corner for UFC fights, and my contribution was carrying the bucket with ice and water, and maybe, in the final seconds of a round, reminding the athlete to breathe the way we worked on during camp. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that. It is simply recognizing that fields of expertise have limits, and limits are a good thing.

I am a performance nutritionist, and that is the contribution I can give to this world.

I have been very active on social media lately, and given what we have been reading in the past days, I felt the need to make this clear, both for you and for myself.
Not life advice. Not psychology. Not roles that are not mine.

Influence is not expertise, and confusing the two does not help athletes or communities grow.

02/02/2026

Third and final excerpt from my commentary on one of Paddy Pimblett’s weight cuts.

In this segment, I discuss the final stages of the cut: the 48 hour weigh in checkpoint and the passive dehydration process that typically occurs in the last 12 hours before the official weigh in.

The key takeaway from this video is that what truly matters is not just the number you see on the scale, but that number in relation to the athlete’s hydration and nutritional status. With old school approaches, an athlete might appear lighter 48 hours out compared to someone following a modern science based protocol, but would already be severely dehydrated at that stage.

If weight cutting had to be defined with one word, it would be a marathon. It cannot be won by sprinting.

Full video available on my YT channel.

Another fight week on the road, this time in Europe, in the rainy Newcastle for the IBF title defense.A smooth weight cu...
02/01/2026

Another fight week on the road, this time in Europe, in the rainy Newcastle for the IBF title defense.

A smooth weight cut with the new British commission rules, and a close and hard fought bout that ended in a narrow majority decision for our opponent who fought safely and smart, avoiding Bakhram’s power. There were moments where he was under pressure, especially in the later rounds, when our raised the pace, and scored a knockdown.

This is sport. We go back to work.

Extremely grateful to the coaches and We will keep working to take the belt back.

Last week we were working in Las Vegas for a UFC bout.This week we are in England for an IBF world title fight, where ou...
01/28/2026

Last week we were working in Las Vegas for a UFC bout.
This week we are in England for an IBF world title fight, where our athlete Bakhram Murtazaliev will defend his belt.

Beyond the obvious differences in sport and weight class, the most significant contrast lies in the weight related criteria required to compete, specifically designed to discourage drastic weight cutting practices.

This includes a weigh in two days before the official weigh in, followed by an additional weigh in on the morning of the fight.
Do you think this system is more effective than the one currently adopted by the UFC?

01/26/2026

A second extract from my full video analysis on one of Paddy Pimblett’s weight cuts.

On the early phase of the camp, Paddy mentions being on a 2000 calorie diet. For a fighter at his level, training volume and intensity, this is clearly hypocaloric.
Short term hypocaloric approaches can be useful to induce an initial drop in body weight, but most of that loss comes from glycogen depletion and associated water loss. When used aggressively or for too long, these strategies often lead to stall phases and plateaus later in the camp.

A fight camp weight cut should be approached as a marathon, not a sprint.
In the full 20 minute video, I break down multiple aspects of this process in detail.

Full video available on my YouTube channel.

01/24/2026

This is an extract from a longer video where I discuss the physiological and performance implications of the extreme lifestyle choices shown by outside of competition, and how those choices impact the way he cuts weight during fight week.

It is a technical analysis and a professional opinion, not a personal judgment.

Full video on YouTube.

Moments | UFC Embedded Ep. 6Four hours after making weight, the priority starts shifting from dehydration management to ...
01/24/2026

Moments | UFC Embedded Ep. 6

Four hours after making weight, the priority starts shifting from dehydration management to glycogen replenishment.

This is the critical window when athletes can finally reintroduce their first solid meal. For this phase, I chose a slow cooked venison ragù for .

Beyond performance, this is also a moment of conviviality. Food is not just fuel. It is a psychological reset, a shared experience, and a key component of recovery and readiness. We brought a touch of Italian culture into a completely different environment while staying fully aligned with performance goals.

I have also seen many reactions regarding the use of Coca Cola. In a previous post, I explained why we use it with elite athletes. Context is always king. The role of Coca Cola in the post weigh in phase is completely different from its role in the daily life of the general population. In this setting, it serves a precise physiological purpose within a controlled recovery strategy.

It’s fight day. Enjoy the show.




Trattoria da Capo | Menu of the DayTen hour slow cooked venison ragù pastaParmigiano Reggiano aged 36 monthsCapo 意大利小餐馆 ...
01/23/2026

Trattoria da Capo | Menu of the Day
Ten hour slow cooked venison ragù pasta
Parmigiano Reggiano aged 36 months

Capo 意大利小餐馆 | 今日菜单
十小时慢炖鹿肉酱意大利面
36 个月熟成帕玛森芝士


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CAPONUTRITION

Perform as a professional athlete, eat as an authentic Italian! Matteo Capodaglio, Director of Performance Doctor of Pharmacy MS Human Nutrition Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine Former Researcher at the World Anti Doping Laboratory in Rome, Italy Affiliate Member of the British Pharmacological Society Member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition