The Pasta & Performance Podcast

It is not often that you meet a man in his 20s who has already built real success as a businessman, especially in a highly competitive environment like Los Angeles. Vache is one of those rare exceptions.After completing his university studies, he founded Muscle Lab, a performance and recovery center where he works with both professional and amateur athletes, focusing on mobility, recovery, and overall physical optimization. I was introduced to him through Arman Tsarukyan, with whom Vache has worked closely over the past three years. His client roster also includes high profile athletes and personalities such as Jake Paul.In this conversation, we discuss his early steps as an entrepreneur, the managerial decisions that shape a young business, the challenges of building credibility at a young age, and, in a lighter turn, Italian cuisine and his recent trip to Italy for a friend’s wedding.

We sat down with UFC fighter Uroš Medić to explore his complex relationship with the 155 lb weight class and his evolution as a professional athlete.Uroš reflects on the early stages of his career, when fighting was not his full-time profession and training, nutrition, and physical development were less structured. That changed in 2020, after earning a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. Following the move to California and his commitment to training at Kings MMA, his workload, strength training, and overall performance level increased, long with his natural bodyweight.Despite becoming stronger and more muscular, Uroš continued to push to make 155 pounds for several fights, until the cuts were no longer manageable. This ultimately led to his transition to the 170 lb division.Throughout the conversation, Uroš shares insights into his diet, training approach, setbacks inside the octagon, cultural influences in fighting, and the business realities of being a UFC athlete, highlighting the importance of adaptation, self-awareness, and personal growth in a high-level MMA career.

I sat down with David Papyan to explore the intersection of sports nutrition and culinary excellence in his internship at CapoNutrition. We recounted the rigorous journey leading up to a UFC title fight, sharing insights into the demanding world of MMA and the art of crafting performance-based meals. Together, we dove into the cultural nuances of Italian and Armenian cuisines, offering insights into the life of a performance nutritionist dedicated to fueling champions.

I caught up with Matt Alfonte, a former wrestler, amateur MMA fighter, and high school wrestling coach from Orange County. I’ve known Matt for about ten years, ever since he was part of the first MMA team that Marvin Vettori joined when he arrived in the U.S.We shared some memories from those early days, talked about the team environment, and reflected on how things used to be before the UFC. Later in the conversation, we dug into Matt’s experience coaching high school athletes and explored the controversial practice of cutting weight—how it’s handled, what’s changed, and what still needs work.A conversation filled with stories, insights, and a look behind the curtain of youth wrestling culture

In this episode, I sit down with UFC middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan to explore the mental challenges of cutting weight and how the mind can play tricks on us under pressure. We dive into the psychological aspects of maintaining focus and discipline during such a demanding process. Edmen also shares his recent experiences in Italy, particularly when it came to navigating the local cuisine. As he prepares for his upcoming fight on August 24th against Gerald Meerschaert, we get an inside look at how he balances his preparation.

I sat down with Edmen Shahbazyan, one of the first athletes I met after relocating to the United States. As a veteran of the UFC middleweight division, Edmen's career skyrocketed at the beginning but faced some significant challenges along the way. We discuss his journey, the importance of sports psychology, and his experience with the ketogenic diet. Edmen also shares his reasons for relocating to Las Vegas, where he earned the nickname 'Vegas Ed.' Additionally, we explore what led him to choose Jason Manly as his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach and Dewey Cooper as his striking coach.

In this podcast episode, we sit down with Joshua Richards, a dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt from New York City. What makes this conversation unique is the story of Joshua's last-minute preparations for the ADCC trials, which we undertook together. Just a week before the trials, Joshua reached out, and we had to navigate a challenging, time-pressed situation. This resulted in a less-than-ideal weight cut. In the podcast, we take a deep dive into the details of his experience. A crucial aspect of this episode is the discussion around weight cutting, a delicate topic in sports. We want to stress the importance of not attempting weight cuts independently and always relying on the assistance of professionals. Cutting weight, regardless of the support, carries inherent risks, which we want our listeners to be aware of.

Mike Guadango is a top-tier strength and conditioning coach located in New Jersey. Mike has honed his craft under the mentorship of legends like De Franco and by training notable athletes such as Kevin Love, and in this episode, we delve deep into his coaching methods from the early days of his career. Our conversation covers the critical role of practice in the field when building a winning roster of athletes, work-life balance, strategies for weight management, and Mike's unique perspective on longevity. We also explore his approach to strength and conditioning, emphasizing the significance of the "slow cooking" method and the effort to limit injudries in an athlete's career. For those venturing into the world of nutrition or strength and conditioning consulting, this episode offers invaluable insights from a true expert in the field. Tune in to discover the secrets of success from Mike Guadango.

Oliver Taza is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu professional athlete. He recently became Pan American Champion, earning his title with four impressive submissions in four matches. He's been a CapoNutrition athlete for about six months. In this episode, Oliver shared his humble beginnings in Jiu-Jitsu and how he found his way to the prestigious Danaher Death Squad in Austin (formerly NYC), where he trains under the legendary John Danaher alongside champions like Gordon Ryan, Nicolas Meregali, and Giancarlo Bodoni. We explored the importance of rest in the life of a professional athlete to prevent injuries and peak performance, and we discussed how a strong structure is conducive to higher overall productivity, starting from cleaning our cooking area every day. Oliver opened up about the challenges he faced in making weight for ADCC and the nuances of different weigh-in formulas, whether in the morning or the night before a competition, speculating on how things will change in the future.

Alexander Park is the founder of Food for Thoughts. His company has been instrumental in guiding high school students toward their dreams of university admission. We discussed the main differences between the US and the Italian school system. But that's not all - Alexander is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, adding a dynamic perspective to the world of sports. We'll also be delving into the world of MMA since he is UFC fighter Jacqueline Amorim's partner and team member. I have the privilege of working closely with Alexander and Jacqueline, making this episode all the more special.

What is regenerative agriculture?Walking around US supermarkets’ aisles, you will notice products from regenerative agriculture practices.While the US government still has to define what legally that is, I love to engage with farmers that put food on my table.I met Loren Poncia because I was looking for high-quality locally raised beef and pork. He owns a ranch in Marin County, about an hour north of San Francisco, and he has been focusing on farming animals doing what he calls “the dance with mother nature.”He is not a sponsor; I just love his work genuinely and, of course, the quality of his products.In this chat,we discussed his ideas about regenerative agriculture, the challenges of running a small farm respecting the ecosystem, valuing the employee’s condition, and climate change in Northern California.As nutritionists/dietitians, our university curriculum focuses much more on human physiology-related food aspects than environmental-related ones.I love understanding the implication of our food choices beyond performance.

Jason Manly was born and raised in Southern California. He then relocated to the Bay area with a track and field scholarship at Berkeley; in the meanwhile, he started to train BJJ under Cesar Gracie, earning his black belt. Jason coached countless MMA elite athletes, including Ronda Rousey, Rampage, and Marvin Vettori. That led him to visit Italy numerous times, to the point he could start understanding Italian cousine and the differences with its representations overseas. In this podcast, we discussed his college experience, the effectiveness of grappling in MMA, and BJJ in a street context.

Andy Murasaki was one of the most dominant BJJ athletes in 2022, with a gold medal at the IBJJF world championship (no-gi) and a silver medal with the gi. In this episode, Andy discussed the cultural differences between Brazil, Japan, and the US regarding food, and his move to SoCal at ATOS BJJ. Still, most importantly, he opened up about developing an eating disorder because of weight cuts in the first part of his career. This podcast offers food for thought, and I hope it will help younger athletes not to fall into the vicious circle of not eating for the sake of reading a number on the scales. We also chatted about his match with Tainan Dalpra in the world championship finals and his ideas about ADCC.

Augusto Tanquinho Mendes is one of the most accomplished athletes in BJJ history, with multiple wins at IBJJF worlds (both gi and no-gi) and ADCC 2019. He has also been a UFC athlete. He played a crucial role in my growth as a performance nutritionist in the US because winning ADCC gold was my first main accomplishment on a big stage. He also connected me to other champions like Mikey Musumeci, Dante Leon, Matheus Diniz, and many more that, to this day, are still part of my professional athletes' team. In this episode, Tanquinho and I talked about the importance of a game plan when entering a competition, the entertainment component in MMA, and extreme weight cuts at 135 while competing in MMA. We also discussed his work as Sean O'Malley's coach and what are the next BJJ prospects to follow in BJJ. Tanquinho is a low-profile champion, not super active on social media or other platforms but with plenty of wisdom to share. I am blessed to call him an athlete and a friend.

Chase Cichos is a S&C coach born in Bellflower, Southern California. His humble beginnings didn't stop in his journey to becoming one of the best trainers in the world, receiving a nomination from Fighters' Magazine for coach of the year. His roster of professional athletes included title challenger Marvin Vettori, Kelvin Gastelum, Giga Chikadze, Uroš Medić, and many more. In this episode, we talked about how Chase's disability affected his life and how he overcame the initial disadvantage, his love for American Football first and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu later, and -of course- the Italians' influence on his career and the ability to cook a homemade/caponutrition approved pesto. You can find more information about Chase's S&C programs here. Anatomy of a Fighter Documentary: Chasing your Dreams Episode art photo by Tommy Tadeo

Dante Leon is a 2022 bronze medalist and IBJJF world champion. He is one of the most skilled grapplers in the world at  170 lb, and he joined team CAPONUTRITION earlier this year. In this podcast, Dante and I discussed his journey to become one of the most accomplished BJJ players starting from a small city in Canada and growing his game far from the leading sports hubs. Dante is also a Westside Barbell member and worked on numerous S&C tutorials for grapplers. We talked about the importance of a sports-specific routine to optimize performance in combat sports, including nutrition. We also reminisced about our ADCC experience with a particular focus on the mental process that led Dante to win the bronze medal. Lastly, Dante dropped big news related to the next IBJJF world championship. You will find it at the end of the episode!

Keir Wenham-Flatt, aka The Rugby Strength Coach, is a British S&C professional who lives in the US but previously worked in Japan, Argentina (coaching its national team), and Australia, becoming one of the most authoritative coaches in Rugby 15. After a brief chapter in college football, he is now devoted to creating resources for young coaches who want to learn the art through an evidence and practice-based approach. Keir is known for his criticism of aspects of college football, including the broad concept of toughness. This podcast discussed that and other sports-related topics like MMA and his experience as a BJJ practitioner. Follow my Instagram page and subscribe to the CAPONUTRITION newsletter to be updated on new podcast episodes.

Nino Asaro is an Italian entrepreneur living in NYC and working as the head of development for his family company, Asaro Oil which has been importing extra virgin olive oil to the United States from Sicily for five generations. Nino is also a great cook and an NYU Gallatin graduate. In this first episode, we discussed living in the US as Italians, how he learned to make the most delicious Italian dishes, and his extra virgin olive oil. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, send it to a friend and subscribe. Grazie mille! If you are a creator and like the music used in this podcast, try Artlist for free for one month at this link: https://artlist.io/Matteo-1140864