Chael Sonnen 20 pounds overweight one day before UFC 148 weigh-ins; Mike Dolce details plan to make 185-pounds

All has gone swimmingly for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the build up to its biggest event of the year, UFC 148: "Silva vs. Sonnen 2," which is all set to pop off tomorrow night (Sat., July 7, 2012) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Indeed, injuries may have plagued nearly every card this year, but the biggest fight of the 2012 combat campaign, Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen for the middleweight championship in a rematch of their epic first encounter, is good to go.

All that's left is the weigh-ins, set to take place later today in "Sin City." And that's where we could run into a problem.

That's because Sonnen was claiming during interviews at the open media workouts last night that he was 20 pounds overweight with just 24 hours to go until he is scheduled to tip the scales. Because this is a title fight, he will need to weigh in at approximately 185-pounds or less. There is no one pound weight allowance.

Talk about cutting it close.

Sonnen doesn't appear worried in the slightest, though, and that's likely because he's got famed mixed martial arts (MMA) nutritionist Mike Dolce guiding him through the process. Dolce isn't worried either. In fact, he says Sonnen is heavy on purpose and they've got a plan in place for the hours to come to make sure the middleweight title challenger is healthy as can be by the time he hits the scales.

"We're going to relax for a little bit and then we're going to check his weight and we're going to start to break a sweat. We're not going to work it off, we're not going to run it off, we're not going to grapple it off or hit pads. We're not going to put on plastics or step in the sauna; right now, we've prepared the body through scientific method to start releasing the weight. We've increased the metabolism, we've increased the core temperature -- he's sweating right now talking. His body is purging the weight in the most healthy manner possible. What I was able to do was find a system that allows these athletes to lose weight in a healthy manner, give the athletes what they need and then the body does what we want it to do instead of the opposite."

Hear a much more detailed explanation from Dolce after the jump. And remember to follow along with MMAmania.com's live coverage of the UFC 148: "Silva vs. Sonnen 2" weigh-in event by clicking here.