Jonathan Stern passed up college to pursue his passion; Seeking to show gains at XFC 3

DALLAS, TX, October 12, 2012 – To be the best fighter he can be, that’s the goal for 21 year old Jonathan Stern. “To be strong mentally, physically and technically… that’s the reason I started fighting. I want to be considered the best fighter in the world one day and that will always be the goal.”

Those are certainly lofty expectations for any fighter, let alone someone who has barely just started in the sport, but this man is determined. He seems to know what he wants to do.

“I started training in 2009 right after graduating high school,” says Jonathan. “I used the money my family gave me at my graduation to get started at Guy Mezger’s gym. I probably should have used it for college but it’s too late now,” he laughs.

As a flyweight, he’s out of the smallest fighters training out of Guy Mezger’s Combat Sports Club out in Addison, but he says that’s okay. The important thing is to stay diligent in the gym and make sure to cultivate that drive and motivation to keep going.

Losing his last fight via submission to Will Hastings at Xtreme Fight Club 2 has gone a long way towards ensuring he’ll be focused in the near-term, specifically as he heads into his fourth amateur bout against Federico Oliviera tomorrow night at Xtreme Fight Club 3 in Mesquite.

“I lost my last fight by submission and I’m sure this guy is going to try to do the same thing,” he says about the bout. “I have always been pretty good at striking but not so much grappling. I need to be able to stop a good grappler and impose myself on my opponent in order to win so I’ve been working on that. To me, this fight is a test to see how I can handle that part of things and see how good I am right now. I need to show improvements so I can hurry up and go pro and be able to make a living from fighting.”

“Right now I’m just trying to make a living like anyone else. I do temporary work in different factories and warehouses around Dallas. I want to get a decent full-time job but I’m trying to pick up techniques I can add to my game so I can improve towards becoming a pro. Camp is always tough because I’m the smallest fighter at Guy Mezger’s Combat Sports Club. All the guys I spar with are bigger than me but it’s all good. I have some of the best coaches you can ask for who have been in the sport since the beginning. I feel if I was at another gym I would not be as good as I am now.”

“I see the fight versus Oliviera ending quickly and if not quickly then my opponent is getting beat up the whole time,” he says about the bout with Oliviera at XFC 3.

“Nobody has been able to handle my hands so far. Everyone goes for the takedown as soon as I start swinging and I feel like this fight will be no different. That’s why I’ve been working nothing but wrestling and jiu-jitsu, because I do not want to lose a fight by submission after dominating a guy ever again and I’ve been working hard at it. All I have to say is to keep your hands up.”

“I want to thank all my coaches, my friends, my family, my girlfriend Jasmine for being the best girlfriend ever, and the haters because haters are my motivators. Thank You.”