None of the fun and exciting seasonings during training camp.

But it was good! And again, Ill be drinking water. Maybe Ill have a kombucha. Kombucha is really the only thing outside of my nutritional drinks that Ill have instead of water. Most of the fluids I take during the day is just water now. And then for dinner, I had klua pigthe Hawaiian barbecue. I had some klua pig with steamed rice. It was a good day yesterday. Theyre not always like that, but yesterday was a really good eating day.

You mentioned kombucha. Are you throwing kombucha in there just because you like it, or is there a specific benefit for you?

For me, its because it tastes different. The things I usually drink, like Gatorade and soda, I cant have right now. The kombucha has some of that fizz that kind of just feels good. Plus, its not water.

When youre not in camp for a fight, how different is your day-to-day diet?

What I do outside of camp would not be considered in any way, shape, or form a diet. [Laughs] Its a free-for-all! Im eating whatever I want, man. But, you know, whereas my nutritionist might make a healthy version of jerk chicken right now, Ill go and find the jerk spot thats hidden in the hole in the wall. Ill eat Louisiana food as much as I possibly can.

My nutritionist, Ian Larios, has done a really good job of incorporating some of the foods that I love, but healthier versions. He made gumbo the other day. A Louisiana staple, obviously. But he made it with super-clean ingredients. Hell make red beans and rice, but its all super-clean ingredients. If I could make the healthier versions myself, Id be much better off for it when Im not in training camp.

Is it hard for you to switch up that mindset when youve gone so long not having to be overly concerned with what youre putting in your body and then having to put some restrictions on yourself when preparing for a fight?

Its tough initially. Especially late in my career. Ive fought once a year for the last few years. So for eight months Im essentially having whatever I want, and then all of a sudden the portions are a lot smaller, the food is a lot cleaner. So its an adjustment right away. But the first thing we do every single time is replace all the sugary drinks with water and try to flush my system to get it prepared to go back to work. Thats always step number one: Get enough good fluids in me where I can even handle the workload that comes with training camp.

Something I found interesting: For your second fight against Stipe, both of you went into that fight around 10 pounds lighter than you were for the first fight. For you, was there a specific reason for that, even after winning the first fight?

I think that was conscious, knowing that it was going to be a long, grueling fight, so cardio was going to be very important.

And how does that inform the weight that youre hoping to come in at for the third fight?

In the last fight, if Im being as honest and truthful as I can with you and the world, my cardio failed me. Right now theres not necessarily a certain number on the scale, but rather the right weight that allows me to compete at the optimal level where I can go hard for 25 minutes with a guy that has a ton of skill thats as good as anyone in the world. So its helped me in the sense that I know now how to manage my conditioning better. But its not a number on the scale. Its more about being physically fit. We understand and know what we need to do in order to give us the best chance to win.

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Daniel Cormier Gets Into Fighting Shape With Kombucha and Cleaned-up Takes on Gumbo and Red Beans and Rice - GQ