So continuing with our interviews of clients, next up we have Jon Hughes. Jon is a professional mixed martial arts fighter that trains with us. His story has been all over our blog in the past, and a lot of people can learn from his drive to overcome failure…
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1.) Alright dude, so thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for the blog. First off, congratulations on your first round arm bar this past Saturday in your first pro win. [For those of the readers that don’t know, Jon had quite a few opponent changes for this fight and went from fighting at 150lbs to accepting a fight at 160lbs a few weeks out, only to settle on a new opponent at 170lbs with only a few days notice. If you missed the post over on beyondstrengthperformance.com last week, you can check it out here: http://www.beyondstrengthperformance.com/8-weeks-to-what]. Tell the readers a little bit about your background and how you came to Beyond Strength Performance NOVA.
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I’m Jon “Scarecrow” Hughes. I started doing mixed martial arts (MMA) seriously about four years ago- however, I knew MMA was something that I wanted to take part in for at least seven years prior. Upon graduating from Broad Run High School I discovered the sport and fell in love. I started out just boxing friends in my back yard as training, and it was fun, but It was not cutting it. After moving around and getting in and out of trouble in various states, I found myself back in VA and happened to stumble upon Scott Howard, a renowned Muay Thai coach, that would take me in for little to nothing to do what I loved- MMA. Ever since, Scott and his gym have been my family away from family. It was through Scott that I met Chris Merritt, the devilishly handsome ginger. He started his own weight training gym, Beyond Strength Performance NOVA, that is now attached to our school, Disciple MMA Academy.
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2.) We had a rough go around in your “8 week train-up” back before you fought Mike Pope. You brought friends to the gym, trained inconsistently, and overall didn’t have a very solid train-up for that fight. What was going on in your head at the time?
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Honestly, I didn’t think Pope was going to be that hard of a fight. I didn’t believe the hype that everyone gave him. I new he was going to bring it, but I was coming off of a 4-fight win streak, 3 of which were within 2 weeks. Needless to say, I was on an “I’m unbeatable” high.
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3.) How did that fight impact your mentality?
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Well, after getting the floor mopped with my face, I was pretty pissed off. I wasn’t sure what I did wrong. I figured I beat everybody else, I thought I was getting better- but something wasn’t adding up. I took some time off to do some soul searching, cliché, I know, but that’s exactly what I did. It was my first pro fight, I was pumped up to win, cruising on a high only to be shot down by a .50 caliber rifle at top speed. It was crushing, I felt like I let everybody down- my gym, family, friends, and most importantly myself. I knew I didn’t do enough and I hated myself for it.
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4.) After the fight you and I had a conversation about commitment, goals, the future, and so on and so forth… and you really have been a different animal altogether. So first off, congratulations on all of your success. I’d like for you to tell the readers what the biggest changes you made to create real lasting change in your life were- not just in the gym, but altogether.
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I made a goal for myself. I told myself that once I reach that goal we’ll make another goal…and another….and another. Then I told myself that we won’t stop till we get to the ULTIMATE goal. Nothing will stop me and I will do everything in my power to get there- whatever it takes.
5.) How would you say that training for strength on a regular basis (8 months) impacted your martial arts training?
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Pfft!! Are you serious? Let me ask you something… What hits harder, 180lbs of fat, skin, and bone- or 175lbs of muscle, speed, and bone? Don’t worry…. I’ll wait.
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6.) Haha alright… Your transformation has been shocking to a lot of people, and while it was for a performance goal, a lot of people would like to put on muscle and lose fat for their own reasons. Any advice for our readers on how to have a transformation of their own?
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People always say, “you can do anything you put your mind too.” And that’s true but you have got to be willing to take some help from the outside as well. For years I have wanted to be stronger and faster. I told myself that I could do it on my own and build a machine. Well, if you read the blog from above, you could see that working out on my own was not cutting it (just look at my “before” pictures). So now I ask for help, and I listen to what Chris says- even if it is him saying “that’s really all you can lift?!” Haha.
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7.) What were the changes you made in your diet for the final 8 weeks?
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I went from Popeyes, burgers, pasta, and sausages, to chicken, veggies, yogurt, and protein. I put myself on lockdown, started focusing on what I needed to do and blocked out all of the negative nonsense from my life. Life is going to hit you, and it’s going to hit you hard. But if you roll with the punches it is going to lessen the blow and allow you to come back with a counter. Go ahead and marinate on that for a little bit.
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8.) How does it feel to get that first pro win out of the way?
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LIKE A MILLION BUCKS!!!
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9.) With all of the weight changes for this fight, what weight is Jon Hughes going to call home?
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My weight will be 155LBS. With all of my gains now, I’d have to cut an arm off to get to 145. I walk in the upper 170’s, low 180’s and 155 is where I belong. 155 is where my goals are.
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10.) Any advice for younger guys coming up the same path as you? Not some cheesy come train at BSP NOVA line, but solid advice they can use today…
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Stay committed, surround yourself with people who will motivate you, and keep your eyes on the prize!
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11.) Thanks for doing the interview man! Now is the time where you can thank anyone you’d like, and say what you’d like to say.
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First and foremost, I want to thank my lord Jesus Christ, with him all thing are done and achieved. I would also like to give a shout out to my gym family at Disciple MMA Academy and Beyond Strength Performance NOVA. Of course, Chris Merritt, as well as the friends that have helped me through the good and the bad times here in northern Virginia…. especially the Brown family- love those guys! Last but not least, I want to thank my biggest supporter, and that’s my mother. I couldn’t have done any of this with out her. I love You Mom!!!
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