Jared Hess has been competing nearly his entire life and Bellator’s tournament format suits him perfectly.
With a background in wrestling, it’s almost second nature for the Bellator 50 headliner to compete with minimal time in between fights.
Hess (11-2-1 MMA, 4-2 Bellator) returns to action opposite Bryan Baker (15-2 MMA, 5-1 Bellator) in the opening round of the organization’s middleweight tournament on Saturday night. He’s elated to have the opportunity and plans on beating the best Bellator has to offer en route to the top.
“I’m thrilled,” Hess recently told BleacherReport.com. “A lot of people would look down on this because I feel and I believe, and don’t get me wrong because the other six middleweights are talented, I just feel that whoever the winner is of this fight is going to win the tournament. I just have that feeling, me and Baker are probably the best two middleweights in this tournament, so some would look down on it and say ‘Oh, I got Bryan Baker (in the) first round.’ For me, the way I look at it, I’m happy just because I’ve always believed that in wrestling and in fighting is that if you’re going to be the best, you need to fight the best.
“So, I’m just thrilled and obviously I’m really disappointed in not being able to get a first-round rematch with Shlemenko, I’ve wanted that fight more than anything. But hands down, I’m happy that I’m fighting Bryan Baker, because I like to fight people that also have a name and I want to go out and beat him. That’s the name of the game, so I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t want to fight the best.”
Testing himself against the best is exactly what Hess will do during the middleweight tournament, and he’ll put his submission skills on display while being featured on MTV 2.
Seventy percent of Hess’ victories have come by way of submission, and he’s yet to see the judges’ scorecards in Bellator. Needless to say, he finishes fights.
“Especially in Bellator, in the tournaments and tournament format,” Hess said. “I’ve wrestled all my life and competing in tournaments and a tournament format, so when you get out there you want to get the pin and I’ve always had that mentality of getting in there and finishing the fights. You don’t want to stay in there, the longer you stay in there, the longer you have a chance in MMA to get beat.
“This is not boxing, you fight with four-ounce gloves on, so anything can happen in a matter of a flash. The less time you stay in there the better off you are and that’s always been my mentality, to get in there and get out. I love fighting, but like I said, ‘Get in there and get out,’ that’s just always been my philosophy.”
His aforementioned mentality is paying off as he’s found a home in the organization and the talented middleweight is thankful they believed in him.
“I feel very fortunate that they gave me an opportunity to fight for them. They’re the ones that gave me a shot and believed in me and let me become the fighter I am today.
“I am very thankful and very fortunate to be in an organization like Bellator.”
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