Dave Hess ~ Long Days And Hard Work

Dave Hess ~ Long Days And Hard Work

In every fighter's career an opportunity comes along to make a name for themselves by defeating an opponent with a well-known name. This Saturday, heavyweight fighter Dave Hess will get that opportunity as he faces off against UFC veteran "Irish" Jake O'Brien in the main event of "MMA Big Show: Triple Threat." MMASpot recently sat down with Dave to discuss his origins and his thoughts on the fight.

An Indiana native growing up in the town of Sunman, Hess has been an athlete his entire life. "I grew up playing football and got into wrestling at a pretty early age. I started wrestling before high school, maybe in fifth grade. I did just about every sport the school offered, but my main focus was wrestling. And I use a lot of that in my fights too, it's helped me out a lot."

While his wrestling certainly laid the foundation for a career in mixed martial arts, Hess never trained in one specific martial art. His transition to MMA instead, was the result of knowing people already involved in the sport. "I just had a buddy, kind of a guy that knew a guy that knew a guy. He told me where their team was at. I found their website and went up there and started practicing with them." That team was Team G-Force, led by Ron Gableman. "He hooked me up with my first fight with Cage Inferno in Louisville, Kentucky."

Hess spent a great deal of his career on the amateur circuit, amassing a record of 19-2 before making the transition to professional MMA. "I didn't even know who I was fighting most of the time, not until I got there. I don't even know how many sanctioned fights I've even had.""A lot of my fights were with Caged Inferno, probably about 8 or 9 fights with them." Unsanctioned fights aside, Hess spent a great deal of his amateur career with the now defunct Caged Inferno.

Following his tenure at Team G-Force, Hess moved to Universal MMA & Fitness in Lawrenceburg, Ind., where he has trained since. Training as a professional fighter can be tough; as one must also balance family life and a job. "I'm actually an injection molder. I've got long days and I work hard, so I'm gone from 6 a.m. until 7-8 at night." To add to the fighter's schedule, Hess has three children; a 7-year-old son and twin boys, born just nine months ago.

Since going pro, Hess has earned a 3-1 record. The submission expert has won all of his professional fights by submission: Eyib Mekhridze fell to a Keylock submission at "Caged Inferno 4," Josh Burns lost to a Rear Naked Choke at "MMA Big Show: Retribution," and Bo Huitt succumbed to an armbar just 39 seconds into their fight at "MMA Big Show: Heavy Hitters." Hess regards the Burns fight as his toughest test thus far.

Full Interview: Source