After reclaiming the bantamweight title at November's UFC 217, T. J. Dillashaw set his sights on a superfight with reigning flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson. Expecting that a date would soon be finalized, T.J. never allowed himself much of a break as he prepared to slim down to the 125-pound flyweight limit. Alas, hopes for the highly anticipated event were dashed in March when UFC president Dana White announced that it’s “not happening.”

Although frustrated by the news, Dillashaw will still defend his title in an August rematch with Cody Garbrandt. In the meantime, he is preparing to compete in his first Ironman Triathlon, because apparently when you’re a professional athlete who is in one kind of ridiculous shape, you want to see if that translates to another sport, too, just for fun. We caught up with Dillashaw to discuss the differences between training to beat others up and training to beat yourself up—and to hear about all the foods he misses most.

GQ: What did you think upon hearing Dana White announce that the fight between you and Demetrious Johnson wouldn’t be happening?T. J. Dillashaw: Yeah, man. We’d been trying to finalize that fight since earlier this year, and then Demetrious had shoulder surgery, so we had to wait a little bit longer, and now for them to say it’s not going to happen is a little frustrating. I’ve been on a diet since I won my belt. I didn’t take a break. Usually, after a fight, you go off of your diet for a little bit and enjoy life. I stuck to it because I knew I had to bring my body mass down. I got into this sport because I love it, and because I love beating people up. I don’t like the politics of fighting, and trying to figure out who you’re going to fight and when. It’s definitely a little discouraging.

Was it stressful trying to drop down in mass?I would have said yes in the past, when I was living the lifestyle I used to back when I was wrestling, and in my earlier days of MMA. I wasn’t as smart as I am now. I didn’t do it the right way. I would just kind of do a crash diet, or eat a little bit less as the fight got closer to get my weight down.

Now I’m with a strength and conditioning coach, Sam Calavitta, who is like a mad scientist. He knows his stuff and how to switch things up to get my body bigger or lighter. We’ve switched up how I eat and the times I’m eating and the times I’m fasting. Seeing the body adapt to the changes I’ve made has been pretty cool.

Watch:Cody Garbrandt Explains His Tattoos (and How His Mom Feels About That Neck Ink)

While working with him now, what have been some of the major tweaks you’ve made that have helped with your current success?I’m listening more to my body. I’m sleeping with a heart-rate monitor. I’m seeing if I’m overworked or not. I eat a close-to-ketogenic diet—that’s the closest I can get without giving away all of our secrets.

I can’t be perfectly keto and be where I want to be, though. I still need carbs to burn for energy. I will do more of a simple-carb base in certain amounts. I try to keep my body in ketosis, but for how hard I work out, I’m still able to eat some carbs.

Do you alter your training or diet depending on who your next opponent is?Yes and no. I won’t worry about what they’re bringing to the table as much, because I know that part of what I’m going to do is going to counter that, if that makes sense. If I go into a fight thinking, “Oh, he’s got a big right hand,” or “He’s got really good jujitsu skills and I have to make sure he doesn’t take me to the ground,” then I’m thinking about what he’s going to do instead of about how I’m going to beat him, and how I make myself better in those areas.

Is it true that you were training for the Ironman Triathlon in May?Yeah, I’m training as a triathlete for my martial arts career, and an Ironman is something I want to do to show how my fighting training pays off—how it has me prepared for something that requires that kind of endurance and mental strength.

I was signed up for the one in May in Santa Rosa, but I had to push that back—I was hoping to fight before that, but now it looks like I’ll be fighting in July. I’ll have to do an Ironman after, though. I can’t do it before because I can’t break my body down for that and for a fight at the same time. The Ironman will come second and defending my title will come first.

So you’re using this as almost an assurance for yourself and/or a humblebrag about your level of training?[Laughs] It’s really about testing the body—testing your mental toughness. I went and watched an Ironman in Boulder, Colorado, that my coach competed in, and I was so impressed, not only with him but with everyone who did it. I love to compete, and after that I knew I needed to see what it was all about. I guess I like to torture myself, and that’s a good way to do it.

What differences are there between training for an Ironman and training for a match?An MMA fighter has to be explosive, so I have to train my fast-twitch muscles. I have to be in anaerobic shape—not just aerobic. I have to have more muscle endurance, and I have to be able to push my lactic threshold. I have to be able to sprint as hard as I can for as long as I can. A fight is a sprint, with a little bit of recovery time in there when you’re dancing around.

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Training for MMA is one of the hardest things in the world, because there’s so many energy systems you use in one fight. In that 25-minute period, I’m going to hit my aerobic, anaerobic, and lactic thresholds. When I train for an Ironman, I’m mainly focusing just on my aerobic capacity.

What do your current meals look like?I usually do three meals and three snacks throughout the day to keep my body fueled up. I eat organic, and stay away from grains, sugars, and processed foods. In the morning I’ll have an omelet with broccoli, spinach, cheese, and ham. I’ll also have some fruit and drink a cold-pressed juice. Snacks are usually MusclePharm protein bars and some nuts.

For lunch, I’ll do a salad with lots of greens and spinach, a broiled egg, and chicken. I’ll have some sort of fish or clean protein for dinner. Since I’m not eating carbs from breads, pastas, or rice, the amount of vegetables I’m eating these days is unreal. That’s a big reason I have to use supplements—to get some of those macronutrients that I miss out on by eating a high-protein, high-fat diet. My coach only allows me to use products that have been third-party-tested. If USADA shows up to my house at 6 A.M. and wants to drug-test me, having a supplement company I can trust takes away a lot of stress.

So you can be tested anywhere at any time during the year?Dude, 365 days a year, I have to let them know where I’m training and where I’m sleeping, and give them any updates to my schedule. If I’m not there, that’s on me. I get a missed test. If I get three of those within a calendar year, I’m suspended for two years. It’s legit, man. I’m tracked wherever I go.

It’s risky for me to be taking a supplement or eating something if I don’t know where it comes from. That’s why I eat all organic—because I know what I’m taking. This is my livelihood, and how I get paid!

When you get the opportunity to celebrate, what are some things you enjoy?The first thing I did after I won my belt against Cody Garbrandt was eat sweets. I was never that guy before. In the past, if I could choose to eat sweets or another dinner, I would choose to eat another dinner. Now, since I’ve been sugar-free for so long, I destroyed some sweets when I got the chance. Even pancakes! I’ll eat breakfast at all times of the day—French toast, waffles, and pancakes—all the things I’ve been depriving myself of. I miss sourdough bread, too. Having some nice sourdough bread with your breakfast? That’s something I’ve been craving.

I can go on forever talking about foods that I wish were healthy. After my fight with Cody, I gave myself a week or two of eating whatever I wanted, but I instantly felt like a jerk. I got back on the diet pretty quick.

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