When you ask a fighter the hardest part of a weight cut, they’ll probably say something about always feeling hungry or struggling to stick to their meticulous diets. 

They might even say the night before weigh-ins is the worst part. 

In his interview with Top Turtle MMA on FloCombat, the UFC's Adam Milstead made no mistake about what was the most difficult past of dropping from heavyweight to light heavyweight from his perspective.

“I had to give up beer and pizza,” Milstead said with a laugh. “It was a difficult time and I’m learning to cope with it. I’m learning to move on, so to speak.”

While giving up his two all-time favorites has been a tough run for Milstead, it’s a change he sees as important. 

“When I was fighting at light heavyweight [earlier in my career], I wasn’t getting injured as much," he said. "My body can just perform a little bit better. I might not be as strong as I am at heavyweight, but I just think I can stay a little more healthy and more active at light heavyweight.”

With all joking about pizza and beer aside, the weight cut has been made easier for Milstead thanks to the help of the UFC Performance Institute. 

After flying out to Las Vegas and working with director of nutrition Clint Wattenberg, Milstead has continued to get help while back at home in the Pittsburgh area.

“[Clint has] hooked me up with a good plan dealing with the carbs I should be eating,” Milstead said, while also noting he regularly calls the Performance Institute if he needs additional help. 

And with the weight cut going as well as it has (he’s currently down to 220 pounds from 235), Milstead feels like it’s all going to pay off in his next fight. 

That scrap comes March 3 at UFC 222 against Jordan Johnson, a man whom Milstead shows no love. 

“I’m going to look to do anything I can to give him [Johnson] reconstructive surgery… He just pisses me off," Milstead said. "He’s one of those guys who’ll try to come out with trash talk, but he just winds up being a dick in general.”

Which makes him the perfect target for all of Milstead’s beer and pizza frustrations. 

“With not being able to drink beer and him calling me out and all this crap, it adds up to it," Milstead said. "And I just want to get in there and absolutely knock his brains out. 

“And then, of course, go out and have a celebration drink." 

Of course, with all the time Milstead has had to think about it, he has both the pizza and the beer all picked out.

“Pizza topping: there’s two that I always go with. I don’t know why, but they always go so good together; it’s banana pepper and pepperoni (and of course extra cheese)," Milstead said. "And 60-Minute IPA from Dogfish Head is my favorite beer of all time.”

By Daniel Vreeland