UFC adds former US Olympic strength and conditioning coach
By José Youngs
UFC adds former Olympic strength and condition and former wrestling nutritionist to state-of-the-art 30,000 foot performance institute
On Tuesday morning, UFC officials announced Bo Sandoval as Director of Strength & Conditioning and Clint Wattenberg as Director of Nutrition for the brand new 30,000 square-foot performance center.
Both directors will begin their roles at the recently unveiled UFC facility immediately, ahead of the UFC Performance Institute’s official opening on Monday, May 22.
As the world’s first mixed martial arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation and performance center, the Performance Institute is a state-of-the-art 30,000 square-foot facility provides benefits and services to all athletes competing under the UFC banner. The Performance Institute is equipped with a full-time staff of experts in the fields of strength and conditioning, nutrition and physical therapy, with a designed focus to provide athletes with world-class performance optimization, at no cost to the athletes. For more information, please visit UFC.com.
“We are excited to welcome Bo and Clint as the newest members of our UFC Performance Institute staff,” stated UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein in a press release. “Bo and Clint are well-known and widely-respected experts in their individual fields and with two decades of collective professional experience, their additions to the team will be a tremendous benefit to our athletes.”
Sandoval enters his new role with 15 years of strength & conditioning experience. He most recently spent eight years at the University of Michigan, with the last six as Assistant Director of Strength & Conditioning for Olympic Sports.
Sandoval began his career in 2003 as a graduate assistant at the University of Southern Mississippi, spending two years on the Golden Eagles’ staff before becoming the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Belhaven University. He also spent time at the United States Olympic Training Center where he worked with Team USA’s boxing, wrestling, judo, para-judo and taekwondo specialists.
In 2015, Sandoval was also recognized as the College Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year by the NCSA.
“Coach Sandoval is a leading light both as a coach in the sport of weightlifting and the art of strength & conditioning,” added Chief Executive Officer of USA Weightlifting Phil Andrews. “We are delighted to see him continue his outstanding career as he joins UFC.”
Wattenberg joins UFC following six years in two nutrition-based roles at Cornell University. He joined Cornell’s athletics department as the Big Red’s Eating Disorder Specialty Nutritionist in 2011. In 2013, he added the role of Sports Nutrition Coordinator, holding both positions until April of 2017. Before becoming a dietitian, Clint was an assistant wrestling coach at Cornell followed by two years competing as a member of Team USA’s Men’s Freestyle National Wrestling Team.
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“Clint is one of the most respected practitioners in the field of weight class sports,” Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association President Scott Sehnert said. “In an industry that has to adapt to change rapidly, he has been an invaluable resource for the members of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association on this topic.”
Wattenberg was also a member of the Cornell wrestling program, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American.