Interview done by: Adam Buck Clark for Let's Bang Em' MMA
LBEMMA: Hey Justin , would you like to introduce yourself before we get started?
Justin: Hey, I'm Justin Hess and I'm an MMA fighter, I train out of Hagerstown Maryland byway of Eternal Martial Arts.
LBEMMA: Ok well let's get started........
Q: What inspired you to get into mma?
A: I got into martial arts by watching the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Watching them displaying BJJ and Kickboxing and Wrestling, I realized its something I was very interested in myself. So, a couple years later I moved to Hagerstown, Maryland and started training out of Eternal martial Arts. I trained there for about a year and a half before I first stepped into the cage back in September of 2008. As I was in there, me and this guy were just going to war, we were both bleeding, people were just going crazy, they were so loud, you really do feed off of their energy. After the fight, I went to the back, the doctors were looking at me, I looked over at my trainer and I was like " this is somethign I can see myself doing for the next 10-15 years. That's pretty much how it all happened and I have been hooked ever since.
Q: What motivates you to train so hard everyday?
A: What motivates me to train so hard everyday is what I think motivates everybody to train hard everyday, THE MONEY!!! We are all in this just for the money mostly. With that being said, I do love to train, I'm a competitive guy. I would love to make it to the UFC, hold a Flyweight championship, and be recognized alongside guys like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Randy Couture and Anderson Silva. Hopefully in about 20-30 years I can look back on my MMA career and say " I did the best I could". Thats what motivates me to train everyday, and hopefully to leave a legacy behind.
Q: What are your aspirations in the MMA world?
A: My aspirations in the MMA world is to hold a pro title or two and of course make it to the big show you know, the UFC, and hopefully hold the UFC Flyweight championship. I would like to be a black belt in BJJ, become a teacher at Eternal Martial Arts one day, and just making it to the pro status. It's a huge goal for myself and once it happens I will just take it from there.
Q: Being so young, do you see yourself making it to an elite level of combat like the UFC or even Strikeforce in the future.
A: By being in MMA at such a young age, I do believe I will make it to an elite level of status, plus to make it to an elite level of status I think you have to have a competitive drive, a hard work ethic, dedication and heart to the sport., Plus I think you have to move between gyms. Staying at one gym is not good. Its like Joe Rogan says "Skills sharpen skills". You have to move around and bounce between gyms. I think anybody can make it to the elite level of status. To answer your question, yes I do think I will make it to the elite level of status one day.
Q: Would you change weightclasses in order to do so?
A: Yes, to make it to the elite level of performance I would move up in weight class. For instance, if the cut down to 125 became way too much I would move up to 135. So to answer your question, yes I would move up in weight class.
Q: If you could fight anyone in the UFC or Strikeforce right now who would it be?
A: If I could fight anybody in MMA right now, uh, it would be Michael Bisping because I don't like the guy. He talks so much trash but he never backs it up. he never does what he says he is gonna do in fights. Part 2 to that is if I could fight someone I really look up to, who is a legend in the sport, and respect, and would like to mold myself after one day, it would have to be Nick Diaz.
Q: What are your plans for the future involving where you train and where you would like to train?
A: I definitely see myself staying at Eternal Martial Arts for a few more years, training there, getting a couple more fights under the Eternal banner. After that, I plan on moving to new York and training under Matt Serra and Ray Longo at the Longo Serra Competition Team. After that, I would like to move to Stockton, California and train under the Cesar Gracie guys like Gilbert Melendez, The Diaz brothers, and Jake Shields. This is somethign I look forward to in a couple of years.
Q: Do you feel as if UFC fights have gotten boring as of late, not including the Brock vs. Cain fight?
A: I personally don't think the fights have ogt boring as of late, I just think some guys with their fighting style, like a Gray Maynard or a Jon Fitch are making fights boring. Than you got guys like Clay Guida, Chris Leben, and Wanderlei Silva who are never in a boring fight. Than again, in this sports you take the chance of seeing a boring fight. Your not always going to have a Stephan Bonnar vs. Forrest Griffin. Personally I think the fights are exciting.
Q: Steroids, what is your take on them in mma?
A: My take on seteroids in MMA is very bad. Just because now with this sport getting off the ground and getting popular, it makes it look very bad. Look at baseball with all of their steroid controvery, and with steroids in mma you give guys like John McCain alot of firepower to keep this sport banned in alot of states. If you get caught with steroids I think that you should get a year suspension and your fight purse should be taken away from that fight.
LBEMMA: Thanks for your time Justin, is there anything else you would like to add?
Justin: I would like to give a shout out to Let's Bang Em MMA: Debates and Discussions for giving me this oppurtunity to do this interview. I would also like to give a shout out to Chris Suder and Heather Suder, and Mr. and Mrs. Suder. I would like to thank Jeremy and Tom for teaching me everything they know about MMA and everybody at Eternal Martial Arts.
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