PHOTO CREDIT: SPIKE.COM
1. When did you fall in love with MMA?
I was always a big Martial Arts fan growing up. I've got picture of when I was about four of me wearing a ninja outfit swirling around some of those little plastic numjucks - LOL!
2. What was the first MMA fight you ever saw?
My first taste of MMA that I can remember was UFC 12 "Judgement Day" After that event I quickly got hooked and went back and watched all of the previous UFC's in addition to never missing a live one again.
3. What were your expectations of the house going in? How did those compare to the actual experience?
My expectations of the house going in was that it was going to be long and hard for me. As far as those comparing to the actually expereince were pretty accurate. I'm a married man and close with all of my family so for me to be on lock down with all those guys was not something I was looking forward to.
4. Both teams put obvious pressure on you going into the Junie Jr. fight. Was that something heavy on your mind going into the fight or were you able to not pay too much attention to it?
Getting to fight is always a good thing but getting to fight someone you genuinely don't like is even better. The funny thing is I own and operate my own MMA Academy and if I had lost to Junie Jr. I may have had to sell the place and move out of state.
5. Recently you mentioned you weren't really a "social" person, you'd rather keep to yourself. How did that affect you in the house? Were you able to use this experience to work on socializing more?
Even though I'm not the most social kind of guy I'm not a hermit and I did my best to socialize and get along with majority of the guys. I know I said I was not there to make friend but I didn't want to make any enemies either.
6. Having fought in the UFC twice before were you asked to come on the show or did you try out?
I drove to Chicago from Cleveland on my own free will to give the actually try outs a shot. For season 5 they let me by pass the tryouts to go straight to being interview by the producers.
7. Did you see going on the show as a "step back" - given you already had Octagon experience?
In a way yes but I know the national exposure one would get from being on Spike was second to none. I didn't apply for the show because I wanted to be some kind of reality tv star, I did it for job security.
8. When did Griffonrawl MMA Academy open?
I've been running the GriffonRawl MMA Academy for a little over three years. We are located in at 6090 Pinecone Drive Mentor, Ohio 44060. The gym's website is www.griffonrawl-ohio.com
9. You have the second most accomplished record on the show (following only TEAM USA coach Dan Henderson). What kind of advantage do you feel that gave you?
I believe its a huge advantage but also a little bit of a disadvantage as well. My body has been through many of wars as I have close to 50 fights between my Muay Thai & MMA career. A lot of these guys have some really good experience and there bodies have not been through as much as mine has. In the end I do think I have the advantage though.
10. Did you ever find yourself training the other guys? Stepping in to your familiar "coach" role?
NO! I tried to get out of the coach mode and tried to do nothing but get into fighter mode. Henderson brought in his own coaches and I'm sure they wouldn't want us getting in there way either. I came to the show to focus on myself and see what I could do if someone were to be training me.
11. What's the "softer" side of Jason Dent? Something we wouldn't expect from you...
LOL - I get made fun of for cuddling with my cats at home! My wife and I have a dog and three cats and my favorite one is fatter than Garfield and makes for a good pillow.
12. What does your normal diet while training for a fight consist of?
I'm still trying to discipline myself to be better with my diet. I try to clean it up you know by just mainly drinking water and increasing my protein intake and being careful what kind of carbs I put in my body.
13. Has there ever been a time when you thought "Forget it, this isn't for me! I'm done!" If so, what was the situation?
To be honest I've been doing this for over fifteen years and I've been to that point more than a few times. Usually I just take a short break and try to remember why I love this sport.
14. If you weren't an MMA fighter what would you be doing?
I honestly can't see myself doing anything else. Hmm, I guess I would be training MMA fighters seeing as I run my own gym.
15. Did you eat anything in the house you'd never ate before?
Nope. They had what was called a wish list where we would fill out whatever we wanted and if we were not to crazy it would always be there the next day.
16. How did your eating habits change -in the house- when the budget was unlimited? - You could literally have filet mignon for every meal if you wanted.
I guess I did eat a little more steak than I would normally eat back at home. If I knew I wasn't going to have to cut weight I would have really took advantage of the whole food situation - LOL!
17. If you could spend a day with anyone who would it be? (dead or alive, famous or non)
My Wife and the rest of my family.
18. If you could train with anyone who would it be?
I would love to get to meet Bas Rutten and train with him. I think it would be great training but also very entertaining.
19. Did you go to college? Did you graduate? What was your major?
No college for this guy. I think I may still go when my fighting career slows down a bit and I have a little spare time. There are a lot of courses I would like to take to help me run my business better.
20. What do you do when you're not training/fighting/teaching/running a gym?
For fun I hang out and watch movies with my wife, I go four wheeling, go to shooting ranges, deer hunting with my dad, swimming, and of course I really enjoy eating but who doesn't.
Do you have any sponsors you'd like to plug? Not at this time.
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