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MMA fighter to change to a plant-based diet after watching Netflix film The Game Changers – will it make a difference?
- French-Vietnamese martial artist Marc Guyon has gone meat-free to see if it helps his recovery from injury, as it did MMA fighter featured in Netflix film
- Guyon, based in Hong Kong, is on a vegetarian diet in January as step to going vegan in February. Nutritionists confident it can provide him enough energy
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On New Year’s Eve, professional mixed martial artist (MMA) Marc Guyon bit into his last carnivorous indulgence – foie gras – before embarking on a meat-free journey that saw him adopt a vegetarian diet for January with plans to transition to a vegan diet in February.
“I used to make jokes about vegetarians … It was the old cliché that to be strong and to fight, one must eat meat,” says the bantamweight fighter.
Several factors triggered his decision. For one, he was ready to take on a New Year challenge. And he had just watched the Netflix documentary The Game Changers, which covered fellow MMA fighter James Wilks’ return to form after two knee injuries, which he credited to adopting a plant-based diet.
“I identified with him … he injured his knees and did research [on better recovery],” says the 35-year-old. “I got injured last year but only one knee. I’m now recovering.”
In September 2018 at the IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Asian Open, Guyon tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the first of four competitions, but continued fighting anyway, and won the overall gold medal. Following knee surgery, Guyon realised he had only a few years of fights left in him, which motivated him to research better recovery strategies.
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